Ten people are facing charges in connection with a fentanyl trafficking ring shipping the drug throughout northern Ontario, according to Brantford police.
Investigators revealed the charges and seizure of close to $200,000 in narcotics last Wednesday as part of Project Carbon Copy – a campaign initiated in October 2021 with Haldimand Norfolk OPP and Sault Ste. Marie police.
Arrests in the initiative happened on Thursday after search warrants were executed at five residences and a motor vehicle entering Sault Ste. Marie with an estimated $168,000 in suspected fentanyl concealed inside.
Three people from Brantford and one from St. George were in the vehicle and each was charged with possession.
Homes in Caledonia, Brantford and Sault Ste. Marie were the target of raids on the same day with about $45,000 of currency extracted from the walls of the Haldimand County home on Arnold Marshall Drive and tools related to a drug cooking operation seized at a Darling Street home in Brant County.
Two people in a Sault Ste. Marie apartment are facing multiple charges tied to possession. A 43-year-old man at that residence is facing additional offences related to the possession of weapons.
Brantford police Chief Robert Davis characterized the drug trade in his city as “evolving and “a lucrative hub for distribution” across Ontario.
“By disrupting the operation of criminal networks, our goal is to assist our community by not only removing drugs from our streets but, by also reducing violence surrounding the trade of illicit drugs in Ontario,” Davis said in a statement.