Manitoba police seize hundreds of thousands in drugs, vehicles as part of multi-provincial drug bust

Police arrest 10 in major drug bust Gabrielle Marchand with details about a police investigation that led to the seizure of nearly $900,000 in drugs.

The Winnipeg Police Service, in partnership with the RCMP and law enforcement across Western Canada, has seized over $800,000 in drugs and $400,000 in vehicles in Manitoba as part an investigation into an alleged criminal drug network.

In early 2018, the Winnipeg police’s organized crime division began Project Riverbank, which targeted a ring providing drugs across Western Canada through a supply chain.

The investigation, which expanded across Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, ended on Oct. 18 after 16 search warrants were executed, including eight in Winnipeg homes.

Over 300 police officers worked across Canada to conduct these searches, with 158 Winnipeg police members and 35 RCMP members involved in the searches and arrests in Winnipeg.

In total, 10 people were arrested and charged with a total of 156 criminal code offences. The following six Winnipeg residents were arrested and charged for offences related to conspiracy and trafficking of a controlled substance, firearms and proceeds of crime: Mason Joaquin Burg, 24; Daniel Jason Finkbeiner, 30; Lisa Dawn Hallson, 32; Amanda Marie Borges, 27; Darci Ann Geiger, 33 and William Junior Fuller, 22.

During the Winnipeg searches, police seized about $121,000 in cash, $845,500 in drugs, cars worth a total of $404,500, as well as a Walther P99 9mm semi-automatic handgun and ammunition.

The combined value of the goods seized across the four provinces is $899,260 worth of drugs, $1,408,500 in cars and $378,740 in cash, which comes to a total value of about $2.7 million.

Winnipeg police said they want to acknowledge the support of all police agencies involved in the investigation.