A months-long investigation into an organized group allegedly involved in a series of criminal enterprises has led to the arrest of 20 people and the seizure of drugs worth tens of millions of dollars, police say.
The investigation, dubbed “Project Gateway,” began in the fall of 2021 and involved officers from the Peel Regional Police, Niagara Regional Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Hamilton-Niagara Detachment.
In a press release issued Thursday, police said that throughout the investigation, investigators were able to link the group to a number of illegal activities, including smuggling drugs from Mexico and Los Angeles into Canada on transport trucks, producing cannabis on a “mass scale”, smuggling people into New York state by boat, and employing illegal foreign workers to work at cannabis production sites and to clean hotel chains.
Police say several seizures were made as part of the investigation. In one such seizure, police recovered 45,000 cannabis plants and 20,000 pounds of processed cannabis. The street value of those drugs is estimated at more than $62 million.
Another seizure saw the recovery of a shipment of cannabis that was supposedly destined for Europe. It had a street value of approximately $1.3 million.
Niagara police say the joint investigation concluded on September 14 with the execution of a series of search warrants throughout Ontario. Authorities say 175 police officers from agencies across southern Ontario and 10 Canada Border Services Agency officers were involved in executing search warrants in Brampton, Milton, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Woodbridge , Richmond Hill and Hamilton.
“The cooperation we have seen throughout this project has been nothing short of remarkable,” said Staff Sgt. Matt Hodges of the Niagara Regional Police Service said in a video posted on YouTube. “Law enforcement agencies across the province really came together at different stages to react to the flow of evidence and our investigative steps. Without their help and cooperation, this project would not have been as successful as I believe it was.”
Police say a number of drugs were seized during the execution of search warrants on September 14, as well as three pistols, two shotguns, a rifle, 1,650 rounds of ammunition, six stolen vehicles and $467,000 in cash.
The 20 people arrested face more than 120 charges combined.
“Our goal at the beginning of this was to dismantle and disrupt this organized group and end the behavior and intrigue that was going on that ultimately leads to violence in our communities, not just here in Niagara but in every other jurisdiction. Hodges said. “I think this project is going to have a profound impact on the entire country.”
For a full list of suspects in custody and the charges they face, follow this Link.