The illegal drug trafficking trade in Canada has been dealt a blow following two drug trafficking investigations in Ontario that have led to a record-setting seizure of fentanyl.
Project Bionic and Project Golden resulted in the seizure of roughly 43.5 kilograms of fentanyl.
This equates to roughly 435,000 deadly doses of the drug being removed from Canadian communities.
Project BIONIC was a five-month investigation aimed at dismantling a dark web marketplace used to ship a high volume of drugs across the country.
The investigation revealed that orders were placed through a dark web marketplace, then packaged and shipped to locations across the country, including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nunavut, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
On March 10, officers arrested two individuals at a Canada Post in Ottawa and seized 86 packages ready to be shipped across the country.
That same day, officers searched three homes and one vehicle in the Gloucester, Ont and Nepean, Ont, areas.
On March 27, officers also searched a separate address as part of the investigation and located 11 stolen vehicles.
As a result of the investigation, four people have been arrested, and they are facing a total of 85 charges.
“Project BIONIC exposed the alarming volume of dangerous drugs being sold through dark web marketplaces, with packages shipped across the country,” said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique. “These arrests show that law enforcement can track and stop even the most complex online trafficking operations.”
“This investigation also plainly demonstrates the connections between drug trafficking and other crimes, such as auto theft and illegal firearms. This seizure is a major step in dismantling drug networks, whether online or on the street.”
Project GOLDEN was an 11-month investigation into a multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking network affecting several communities across southwestern Ontario.
Significant quantities of suspected cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, heroin, ketamine, and prescription drugs were seized.
The investigation was launched in July of 2024.
On May 28, 16 homes and businesses and eight vehicles were searched in the following Ontario areas: Oxford County, Norfolk County, Hamilton, Mississauga, York Region, Burlington and Toronto.
The project has led to the arrest of 15 people who are facing a combined 140 charges.
However, the investigation remains ongoing.
“As drug trafficking networks evolve in complexity, so too must our investigative strategies,” added Carrique. “Both Project BIONIC and Project GOLDEN were historic investigations: Project BIONIC as a first-of-its-kind OPP investigation into dark web trafficking, and Project GOLDEN as the largest seizure of fentanyl in OPP history.”
“We remain committed to cutting off supply chains and taking down criminal networks, because every gram of fentanyl we seize is a life potentially saved.”
In total, the following illegal drugs have been seized between the two projects:
- Approximately 43.5 kg of suspected fentanyl
- Approximately 27.1 kg of suspected methamphetamine
- Approximately 7.3 kg of suspected cocaine
- Approximately 3.714 kg of suspected MDMA powder
- More than 2,395 suspected MDMA tablets
- Approximately 2.035 kg of suspected heroin, including black tar heroin
- Approximately 1.4 kg of suspected ketamine
- Approximately 5.8 kg of cannabis resin (hash)
- Approximately 590 g of dried cannabis
- Approximately 34 g of psilocybin
- More than 47,955 hydromorphone tablets
- More than 6,580 methylphenidate tablets
- More than 3,175 morphine tablets
- More than 1,785 oxycodone tablets
- More than 40 fentanyl patches
- More than 40 steroid liquid vials
- More than 715 pregabalin tablets
- A large quantity of other prescription medications
The estimated street value of the drugs is $7.9 million.
The following items were also seized:
- Four firearms
- Brass knuckles
- An extended magazine and ammunition
- Roughly $216,600 in cash
- Electronic devices
- Fraudulent licence plates
- Reprogrammable key fobs
- A diagnostic and programming tool
- A stolen 2018 Ferrari 488 Spider convertible valued at more than $400,000
- Three vehicles as offence-related property
- Eleven stolen vehicles, including:
- Two Toyota Highlanders
- Three Toyota Sequoias
- Five Toyota Tundras
- One Lexus RX
The estimated value of the recovered vehicles is $730,000
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