Ontario police seize $5.4 million in drugs in two massive trafficking investigations

Ontario Provincial Police held a media conference on Tuesday to announce a historic fentanyl seizure following two lengthy drug trafficking investigations.

According to police, the investigations, dubbed Project BIONIC and Project GOLDEN, resulted in the seizure of 43.5 kilograms of fentanyl, equaling roughly 435,000 potentially deadly street-level doses.

“To put that into perspective, a population of 435,000 would be the fifth largest urban population centre in the Province of Ontario,” OPP stated in a release. “The fentanyl seized through these investigations was mixed with other substances, which has been taken into consideration when estimating street-level doses.”

Project GOLDEN was an 11-month investigation into a multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking network across southwestern Ontario, and resulted in the OPP’s largest fentanyl seizure to date - 38 kilograms.

Project BIONIC spanned five months and was the first of its kind for the OPP. It took aim at an operation utilizing the dark web to ship drugs across the country.

“As drug trafficking networks evolve in complexity, so too must our investigative strategies,” stated OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique. “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.”

Police executed search warrants at 16 residences and businesses and eight vehicles in York Region, Toronto, Burlington, Hamilton, Norfolk County and Oxford County.

Along with the massive fentanyl seizure, police also seized 5.5 kilograms of suspected cocaine, 19.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, two handguns and a rifle, brass knuckles, and more than $121,000 in Canadian cash.

Police say the estimated street-value of the drugs seized is $5.4 million.