Police say only 3 of 10 suspects in gun and drug trafficking bust remain in custody

Durham Police Acting Deputy Chief Ryan Connolly announced the results of 'Project Venture' during a news conference Thursday May 22, 2025.

A months-long undercover investigation into illegal firearm and drug trafficking has led to the arrest of 10 suspects, who face more than 100 charges combined, Durham Regional Police say.

The multi-jurisdictional probe, dubbed Project Venture, was launched in November of last year and police say it unearthed a firearm and drug trafficking network that spanned Durham Region, Toronto, and the Region of Waterloo.

Earlier this month, 19 search warrants were executed at locations in all three regions and police said a total of 12 firearms were seized, including eight handguns, two rifles, and two shotguns.

According to investigators, four of the weapons came from the U.S., one was stolen during a break-and-enter in Durham Region, and another was traced back to British Columbia. Police said one firearm had an unreadable serial number, two did not have serial numbers, and investigators are still working to confirm the origin of the other guns that were seized.

“Project Venture was an undercover operation,” Det.-Sgt. Brad Corner told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

“We were targeting a drug trafficker that was operating in our region and through those contacts and dealing with that drug trafficker, we were able to move up the supply chain as well as focus on a gun trafficking operation as well.”

In addition to the weapons that were seized, police said they also recovered a vehicle, 3.4 kilograms of cocaine, and about $130,000 in Canadian currency.

“Based on the volume of drugs we believe they were trafficking, this is a fairly organized operation involving a number of different groups,” Corner added.

A total of 112 charges have been laid in connection with the probe and police said 10 suspects were arrested while two remain outstanding.

“Out of the 10 individuals arrested, disturbingly, only three remain in custody,” Durham Police Acting Deputy Chief Ryan Connolly told reporters.

He called the recent rise in gun violence in the region “deeply concerning.”

He added that so far in 2025, officers have taken 39 illegal guns off the street, an increase of 22 per cent from last year.

“The alarming part to this is… earlier in our careers, for a frontline officer to seize a firearm, it would be a major event. Unfortunately, it is becoming all too regular now,” Connolly said.

“These guns are being trafficked in our communities, people are profiting from this, and these are tools of death. These guns are used to commit robberies, street level robberies, commercial robberies, carjackings, and we have to take this more seriously.”