Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have seized $8 million worth of illegal drugs and firearms and charged 23 people, including three that were allegedly facilitating the trafficking of contraband while imprisoned, following a province-wide investigation.
Dubbed Project Moffatt, the investigation began in April when the OPP say they learned of three distinct crime groups that were trafficking firearms in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and central and northeastern Ontario.
OPP were assisted by officers from York Regional Police (YRP), Peel Regional Police (PRP), the Barrie Police Service and the Ottawa Police Service.
As a result of the investigation, the OPP executed 14 search warrants last month at locations in Toronto, Vaughan, Barrie, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, North Bay, Engelhart and Pickering.
Police say the items seized upon execution of these search warrants included but is not limited to 29 firearms, 12 kilograms of fentanyl, 25.25 kilograms of cocaine, five kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, over 260,000 methamphetamine tablets, Canadian and U.S. currency, and 10 vehicles.
The total street value of the drugs and firearms seized is over $8 million, police say, and additional offence-related property seized amounts to $790,000.
“Project Moffatt has reveled criminal networks that are a threat to our public safety,” said OPP Chief Superintendent Paul Mackey during a news conference Wednesday morning at YRP headquarters in Aurora.
“The number of potential street level doses of fentanyl and methamphetamines seized by our investigators is nothing short of shocking. Also shocking is the number of firearms seized off our streets.”
Police say search warrants were also executed at both the Maplehurst Correctional Complex and the Collins Bay Federal Institution.
“The reason for conducting searches within those correctional facilities was to gather further evidence against three accused who were facilitating the trafficking of illegal firearms while behind bars,” said OPP Detective Inspector Lee Fulford at the news conference.
Of the 23 charged in the investigation, one individual was a federal parolee who was violating the conditions of his parole, according to police.
The accused range from 19 to 62 years old and many are residents of the GTA.
"Illicit drugs and illegal firearms traffickers jeopardize the safety of our communities. The accused charged as a result of Project Moffatt directly profited from violence and human suffering and show a complete lack of regard for the laws put in place to protect all of us,” said OPP Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns.
“I am proud of the investigative team for a seizure of this magnitude. We will continue to actively pursue these criminals and incapacitate their networks."
Project Moffatt remains ongoing, and investigators are asking anyone with any information about the trafficking of illicit drugs of firearms to contact the OPP, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
