Drug trafficking investigation leads to seizure of $200K in cash from Hamilton bank deposit boxes

A quantity of drugs and cash seized as part of a months-long Hamilton police investigation is shown. (Hamilton Police Service)

Hamilton police have seized $200,000 in cash from bank safety deposit boxes following a months-long investigation into drug trafficking.

The investigation dates back to Jan. 27 when police were first contacted by a member of the public regarding suspicious activity.

Police say officers executed a search warrant at a condominium unit on Charlton Avenue East and a related motor vehicle on April 17. During the execution of those search warrants, police seized $11,000 in cash along with a quantity of cocaine, fentanyl and Dilaudid and Oxycodone pills. Police say that officers also seized two TD Bank safety deposit box keys at the time.

A few weeks later on April 30, police accessed a safety deposit box at a TD branch on King Street East in Hamilton and seized an additional $100,000 in cash.

The following day another safety deposit box at a TD branch on Fennell Avenue East was searched, resulting in the seizure of another $80,000.

Police say that a court-authorized production order then led to the identification of a third safety box at the same branch and on May 28 officers gained access to it and seized an additional $20,000.

In total, approximately $211,000 in cash was seized during the course of the investigation.

Police say that Mario Raffaelle Visocchi, 53, has been arrested and faces four drug-trafficking related charges, including three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Visocchi remains in custody, according to police.

“This investigation demonstrates the Hamilton Police Service’s ongoing efforts to dismantle drug trafficking operations and target the proceeds of crime that fuel further criminal activity,” a news release notes.