Police stem the tide of guns, drugs
It was a rough year in York Region for criminals selling weapons and drugs as investigators worked diligently to get them off the streets
leading the country
Inspector Richard Gaudet of the Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, who oversees Major Projects and Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement, said that YRP is a provincial leader when it comes to drug and gun enforcement, presenting successful case studies at the Ontario Police College and at other forums across the country.
“Everybody knows the harm that illegal firearms and drugs are causing in our community.”
INSPECTOR RICH GAUDET, ORGANIZED CRIME ENFORCEMENT BUREAU
Members of our Major Projects and Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Units worked throughout 2023 to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs and weapons into our community, tackling organized crime head-on and making York Region a safer place to live and work.
Inspector Gaudet explained: “When you have officers who have the expertise and the ability to conduct proactive enforcement against people selling those illegal commodities, it makes the community safer.”
project aries
The Major Projects Unit, which disrupts large criminal organizations involved in violence and gun and drug trafficking and handles long-term investigations, struck a major blow to cocaine trafficking in York Region through Project Aries, which included search warrants executed in Vaughan and Richmond Hill in January 2023.
project aries
By the Numbers
$8.9 million
worth of cocaine seized
$100,000
in luxury clothing recovered
$260,000
in cash seized
project crystal
The Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit, which handles both short and long-term enforcement related to drug and gun trafficking, uncovered a sophisticated drug trafficking network in Newmarket through Project Crystal. Among the illegal drugs seized were:
- 11 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine
- Two kilos of fentanyl
- Six kilos of cocaine
- Nearly 900 grams of MDMA (ecstasy)
- 230 pounds of illicit cannabis
project crystal
By the Numbers
$7 million
worth of illegal drugs seized
39
people arrested
150
charges laid
project dayton
On November 17, 2022, YRP responded to a commercial break and enter at a storage facility in Markham affecting several units. Responding officers found one of the units contained bags of illegal drugs.
On November 17, 2022, YRP responded to a commercial break and enter at a storage facility in Markham affecting several units. Responding officers found one of the units contained bags of illegal drugs.
An initial search warrant uncovered 23 kilograms of methamphetamine, almost 10,000 thousand MDMA pills and more than 83 kilograms of various chemicals used in the production of illegal drugs.
On May 31, 2023, investigators charged a man and seized three kilograms of methamphetamine and 900 grams of crystal-form MDMA.
project dayton By the Numbers
$2 million
worth of methamphetamine and MDMA seized
project odeon
Members of the Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit worked with partners from the Hamilton Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, the Toronto Police Service and several other law enforcement agencies to form a Hamilton-led joint forces operation focused on dismantling drug producing facilities and seizing illicit drugs.
The investigation resulted in 12 individuals arrested and charged with 48 offences after warrants were executed across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including in Whitchurch-Stouffville and Vaughan.
Read more about Project Odeon on the Hamilton Police Service website.
Officers hose down equipment after dismantling a clandestine lab.
Officers working on Project Odeon identified illegal drug producing facilities in the GTA.
project odeon By the Numbers
$6.5 million
worth of illegal drugs seized
12
individuals arrested
2
clandestine drug labs dismantled
project moneypenny
A joint-forces operation led by the Toronto Police Service (TPS) and York Regional Police, also involving Ontario Provincial Police and the Durham Regional Police Service, dismantled a cross-border firearms smuggling network.
Forty-nine search warrants executed in Toronto, Peel Region and Durham Region amounted to the arrest of 42 suspects, charged with 422 criminal charges.
Investigators found that the majority of the firearms seized came from the United States.
Read more about Project Moneypenny on the Toronto Police Service website.
project moneypenny By the Numbers
173
illegal guns seized
49
search warrants executed across the GTA
Guns seized during Project Moneypenny included dangerous automatic weapons.
Dozens of guns were seized at the conclusion of Project Moneypenny.
