London police say 18 people, ranging in age from 13 to 46, are facing a total of 35 charges in connection with what police are calling the largest suspected fentanyl seizure in the force’s history.
Police say nearly three-quarters of a million dollars’ worth of suspected fentanyl was seized, along with some methamphetamine, a loaded semi-automatic handgun, a loaded revolver, and $55,000 in cash during the execution of search warrants early Friday morning at “multiple locations throughout the city of London and Brampton.”
Search warrants were executed at addresses on Kipps Lane, Boler Road, Forbes Street, Snowden Crescent, Ontario Street, Marconi Boulevard, and Dundas Street in London as well as on Brushwood Drive in Brampton.
“This is the largest suspected fentanyl seizure in London police history,” said Det. Sgt. Rob Merrimen, head of the service’s guns and drugs section.
“The assistance of our partnering police services and the co-operating units within the London Police Service was integral in the safe conclusion of this investigation. The illegal drugs will always be out there, and even though we removed some from the streets, we remain focused on addressing the threats to community safety posed by illegally possessed firearms and drugs such as fentanyl.”
According to police, officers seized:
- Toronto Pearson gold heist: Ontario man arrested at airport after arriving from India
- Man charged in surfer deaths told girlfriend he killed ‘3 gringos,’ court hears
- ‘I believe they’re looking for me’: Man arrested after triple stabbing in Mississauga, Ont.
- Drone used to smuggle $250,000 worth of contraband into N.B. prison, police say
- 2.062 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, valued at $721,700
- 33 grams of suspected crystal meth, valued at $3,630
- A loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun
- A loaded .32 calibre revolver
- Roughly $55,000 in cash
Four teenagers are among those charged in the case. A 13-year-old is charged with failing to comply with an undertaking, a 17-year-old is charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, and a 17-year-old and 16-year-old are both facing charges of unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm and possess loaded/unloaded regulated firearm.
Seven adult Londoners, ranging in age from 20 to 37, face charges related to possession for the purpose of trafficking. Three Londoners, between 23 and 46, are facing weapons-related charges.
A 23-year-old from Etobicoke is charged with public mischief — divert suspicion from self or cause another to be suspected. Three people from Brampton, two 21-year-olds and a 22-year-old, are charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking while two of the three are also facing a count of failing to comply with release order.
The investigation comes roughly seven months after what the London Police Service described at the time as the largest single seizure of fentanyl pills.
In July, London police announced that on March 1, officers were contacted after airport security reported discovering the pills inside two containers in luggage that had been presented by a passenger, police said. A total of 1,902 fentanyl pills were discovered and a 41-year-old was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Comments