Halton police (HRPS) are describing the sentencing of a 31-year-old Markham man following the largest drug seizure in the region’s history as “precedent-setting.”
The 15-year prison term was handed out earlier this week by the Ontario Court of Justice and was tied to the year-long “Project Mover” investigation, which tracked a number of people from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) accused of trafficking opioids.
The sentence is the longest ever handed out on a drug-related charge laid by the police service.
“We are grateful for the strong message sent by the judicial system to those who choose to traffic in dangerous and illicit substances,” deputy chief of regional operations Jeff Hill said in a statement after the decision.
“These drugs and the criminals who traffic them have no place in our region and we vow to continue to relentlessly pursue those who put our communities at risk.”
Get daily National news
Project Mover began in late 2019 and resulted in the largest fentanyl seizure in HRPS history — 10.25 kilograms with a value of more than $4 million.
Two men from Oakville and a Hamilton man were three of nine people charged during the operation between June and September. Six residences were raided, resulting in the collection of fentanyl, cocaine, crystal meth, a shotgun, a handgun and a stolen 2019 Dodge Durango.
Individuals from Markham, Mississauga, Brampton, B.C., and Alberta were also charged with trafficking-related offences. A Toronto woman was charged with possession of property obtained by crime.
A total of 30 charges were laid by police in relation to the investigation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario’s opioid crisis worsened dramatically, hitting the province’s homeless population and those unemployed hard, according to the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital.
A report released in mid-May found fatal opioid overdoses were up more than 75 per cent after COVID-19 hit in 2020, compared with 2019.
Around 2,050 people died of opioid overdoses between March 2020 and December last year, compared with 1,162 in the same time period the previous year.
Hamilton recorded 113 deaths opioid-related deaths in 2020. There were 105 deaths in all of 2019 and 123 in 2018. There were fewer than 40 between 2008 and 2016.
Comments