Winnipeg police say they and the Ontario Provincial Police have taken down an Ontario cocaine network.
It started in early 2020, when the Winnipeg Police Service officers discovered the crime group was transporting multiple kilograms of cocaine from southern Ontario, using regular package delivery services, police said Thursday.
The packages would make their way to Winnipeg where they would be distributed to traffickers, police said.
As the investigation got bigger, the WPS called in the Ontario Provincial Police’s organized crime unit.
On Oct. 21, police raided nine homes, four in southern Ontario and five in Winnipeg.
More than 100 police officers were needed to collaboratively dismantle the crime ring, Winnipeg police said.
During the raids, police found $340,000 of cocaine, $300,000 cash, smaller amounts of fentanyl, psilocybin and ketamine, several guns, body armour, drug packaging material, and numerous mobile phones.
Eleven people were arrested and charged with 56 crimes, including conspiracy, drug trafficking, proceeds of crime and firearms offences.
The 11 charged include:
- Melissa Barrion, 28, of Winnipeg
- Steven Griffith, 28, of Winnipeg
- Jordan Nery, 33, of Winnipeg
- Julian Nery, 28, of Winnipeg
- Chester Rouletter, 25, of Winnipeg
- Brandon Sadiua, 28, of Winnipeg
- Nyke Thorpe, 40, of Winnipeg
- Allen Cheung, 34, of Markham
- Thanh Xuan Mai, 36, of Maple
- Hong Phong Nguyen, 34, of North York
- Trung Hieu Tran, 33, of Vaughan