VANCOUVER – Twenty eight people have been arrested in a major heroin trafficking and importation operation.
The investigation began in June, 2013, when members of the RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) identified a group of people in the Vancouver area involved in importing heroin. Shipments started in Afghanistan and would travel by air via Africa and then to Canada and Europe.
Once shipments reached Canada, the heroin would then be distributed in various cities.
Investigators reached out to agencies, including the South African Police Service and the Belgium Federal Police to identify people involved and dismantle the operation.
Police say the operation was complex and that transnational organized crime, including heroin trafficking, is a global problem in which geographical boundaries do not exist.
Along with the 28 arrests, 37 kilograms of heroin were also seized.
The FSOC, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) were involved in this multi-agency, multi-national investigation.
“In a multifaceted and ever-changing environment, integrated efforts amongst the Canadian and international law enforcement community are vital to combating and disrupting criminal activity more effectively,” says Assistant Commissioner James Malizia, in charge of Federal Policing Criminal Operations in Ottawa. “The RCMP is committed to fighting organized crime to the full extent of the law.”
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