Guelph police, with the assistance of other police services, arrested three individuals and seized almost $5M in drugs Wednesday, the culmination of an investigation that lasted several months.
Police report that in November the Guelph Police Service Drug Enforcement Unit started a drug and firearm trafficking investigation into a group of individuals supplying drugs and guns throughout southern Ontario including Guelph.
Following a complex investigation, several search warrants were executed Wednesday morning in Hamilton, Brampton and Mississauga with the assistance of the Guelph Police Service Break Enter Auto Theft, Intelligence and Tactical units along with the Hamilton Police Service ERU team and the Provincial ROPE team. Three individuals were arrested, and the following items seized:
- Six Glock handguns with multiple over-capacity magazines including a 50-round drum magazine with ammunition.
- A Kelt-Tec AR Style rifle and ammunition
- An SKS semi-automatic rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition
- Approximately seven kilograms of methamphetamine, 3.5 kilograms of fentanyl and five kilograms of cocaine
A 37-year-old Brampton man faces multiple drug and firearm charges and was also arrested for violating parole. A 68-year-old Mississauga man is charged with multiple drug and firearm offences. A 33-year-old Hamilton man is charged with several drug offences. All were held for bail hearings.
Three of the Glock handguns have already been determined to have been stolen from the United States.
Health Canada analysis indicated that the majority of fentanyl seized in this investigation is near pure fentanyl; being substantially stronger than samples of fentanyl typically trafficked at street level. This represents approximately 23.5 kilograms or 235,000 doses of fentanyl with a street value of $4.7 million.
The seized cocaine and methamphetamine have an estimated street value of $680,000.
This project would not have been possible without the assistance of funding provided by the Ontario Government, Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario as well as assistance from members of the York Regional Police Service, Hamilton Police Service and the OPP ROPE Team.
