Cops arrest 18 people in cross-border investigation that seized fentanyl-laced pills, guns
VAUGHAN, Ont. — Thousands of fentanyl-laced pills described by police as “potential doses of death” and nearly two dozen guns were seized this week as officers arrested 18 people in an international investigation into organized crime, Ontario Provincial Police said Thursday.
Hundreds of officers fanned out through parts of Ontario and Quebec as part of calculated, simultaneous raids on 22 locations on Wednesday, seizing pills containing the deadly opioid fentanyl and 23 firearms, OPP Deputy Commissioner Rick Barnum told a news conference.
“By dismantling a criminal operation of this magnitude, we’ve literally prevented more than 11,000 doses of death of fentanyl and illegal guns from killing people in our communities,” Barnum said.
The investigation began by targeting multiple criminal groups trafficking firearms and drugs along the Highway 401 corridor between the Greater Toronto Area and Montreal, he said.