A record-breaking $37.2 million worth of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl was removed from Canadian streets following an interprovincial drug bust, according to Winnipeg police.
The operation, dubbed Project Puma by the services involved, was described as a “success” by Manitoba’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General Matt Wiebe, who commended the joint effort at the press conference on Wednesday.
Police said 33 people were arrested and 174 charges were laid nationwide as part of the project that spanned two years.
It led to the seizure of 339 kilograms of methamphetamine, 175 kg of cocaine, 11.25 kg of fentanyl, as well as a number of unidentified pills, according to the Winnipeg Police Service.
The meth had an estimated wholesale value of $2.7 million and street value of $16.9 million.
The bricks of cocaine had an estimated wholesale value of $4.375 million, which translated to an estimated street value of $17.5 million.
The fentanyl was pegged at a wholesale value of $225,000 but on the street, valued at $2.7 million.
Among those taken into custody were “core” players in the drug world, as well as lower-level individuals, police said.
Some of those arrested were said to be “associated” with larger criminal organizations, including the Hell’s Angels, the Wolfpack Alliance gang and unnamed Mexican cartels.
“Criminal networks no longer operate within silos,” Insp. Josh Ewatski from the WPS organized crime division told reporters at police headquarters.
“They collaborate with rivals, operate across jurisdictions, adapt quickly and rely on complex supply chains, making it impossible for any single agency to combat this threat on their own.”
He added Project Puma involved co-ordinated enforcement and covert operations in which officers purchased large amounts of drugs.
In addition to the kilograms of illegal substances, police seized 12 handguns, one shotgun and one carbine gun, according to the WPS.
Officers also confiscated seven vehicles, around $825,000 in cash and 1.35 million illegal cigarettes, according to police.
This number of illegal cigarettes would have seen approximately $400,000 in taxes go unpaid if they were sold, Ewatski said.
Seven of the people facing charges pleaded guilty and were sentenced. The sentences ranged from three to 16 years, said Ewatski.
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“A lot of this investigation, and the charges that were laid, are still before the courts. So, I can’t comment too deeply on specific groups,” Ewatski added.
Drugs were said to be travelling across provincial and national borders.
They were being imported from the U.S. via commercial vehicles and warehoused in Ontario and Alberta.
From there, they were shipped via mail or courier or tucked away and taken by a vehicle to Manitoba, he explained.
“The scale of methamphetamine and cocaine seizures is particularly significant, highlighting the volume of harmful substances being trafficked across provincial boundaries,” said Acting Detective Supt. of the Ontario Provincial Police, Andy Bradford.
“The removal of these drugs, along with a significant amount of currency and numerous illegal firearms, represents a meaningful disruption to organized crime networks and their ability to cause harm.”
Arrests were made in parts of the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area, including in Brantford, as well as in northwestern Ontario’s community of Kenora, where it borders Manitoba, the OPP officer said.
In Alberta, an Edmonton woman was arrested after RCMP in the neighbouring Parkland County tracked her cellphone and noticed her moving towards Calgary and Manitoba.
“At that point, the file transitioned from a localized investigation to one requiring inter-provincial and inter-agency coordination,” said Insp. Kevin McGillivray of the Alberta RCMP’s Parkland detachment.
The southern Alberta detachment got in touch with the WPS. Both forces monitored the woman until she was pulled over for a traffic stop and subsequently arrested, in Winnipeg, he said.
“No single agency could have achieved this result alone,” McGillivray added.
He complimented the combined efforts and their expected effects as the forces disrupted the production and trafficking process.
Arrests were made over the course of this two-year investigation, according to Ewatski, who said most occurred in recent months.
Two people from Brantford, Ont., Randy Chao and Tyler DeFelice, are wanted on conspiracy-related charges in relation to Project Puma, the WPS said.
In February 2026, the Edmonton Police Service and Parkland RCMP launched a joint drug trafficking investigation they said was tied to shared intelligence and findings from the WPS investigation.
Last month, Edmonton police raided a property in that city’s downtown and seized $8 million in cocaine, meth and a buffing agent, along with cash and a gun.
“We’re pleased our partners at the Winnipeg Police Service brought their large-scale investigation to a successful conclusion, and that EPS officers were able to locate and arrest a suspect in Edmonton found with more than 80 kilograms of drugs,” said Edmonton drugs and gang unit Staff Sgt. Jen McCann.
“Strong partnerships and intelligence sharing are essential to disrupting drug trafficking across the country.”
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