Seven people are facing charges and over $913,000 worth of drugs have been seized in a multijurisdictional drug trafficking investigation in southwestern Ontario.
The OPP-led Provincial Guns and Gangs Enforcement Team (PGNG) launched an investigation in January.
Investigators said they identified two separate criminal networks operating independently, with one in the Brantford and Brant County areas, and the other in London and Oneida Nation of the Thames.
With help from OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit, Haldimand and Oxford County OPP Community Street Crime Units, and the Brantford Police Service, PGNG searched four locations in Brantford and Paris on July 7.
On August 12, residences in London and Oneida Nation of the Thames were searched. Members of Middlesex, Lambton, and Oxford County OPP, London Police Service, and Oneida Police Service assisted.
"Oneida Nation is committed to keeping the flow of illicit drugs and drug trafficking outside of our community," said Oneida Police Service Sgt. Jamie Doxtator in a media release. "We have seen firsthand the impact that addictions, drug-related crime, and the illegal firearms associated with these activities have had on our loved ones, community members, and others who enter our community."
In total, officers seized:
- 6.5 kg of suspected fentanyl
- 420 g of suspected cocaine
- 250g of suspected methamphetamine
- More than $73,500
- A handgun with an auto-switch
- Rifle
- Three prohibited magazines, including an over-capacity drum magazine
- Ammunition
- Brass knuckles
- Drug trafficking paraphernalia
- Two stolen camper trailers
- Stolen 2019 Honda Civic
OPP specified the stolen property was worth over $100,000 and the quantity of fentanyl seized represents approximately 65,000 potentially lethal street-level doses.
"Every quantity of fentanyl removed from circulation is a quantity that cannot reach our neighbourhoods, put lives at risk or contribute to the devastating impacts of substance use and drug trafficking," said OPP Acting Det. Supt. of Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau Andy Bradford. "This outcome reflects the strength of intelligence-led policing and partnership-based enforcement, and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to disrupting criminal networks, removing dangerous drugs and firearms from our communities and enhancing public safety across Ontario."
Five people were arrested as part of the investigation, and warrants were issued for two others. They face a combined total of 64 charges.
The accused include a 50-year-old from Southwold, a 21-year-old from London, a 35-year-old London woman, a 68-year-old Brantford man, and a 25-year-old from Brantford.
Arrest warrants were issued for a 21-year-old London resident and a 29-year-old Brantford man.
