Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TORONTO59
2008-02-29 18:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Toronto
Cable title:
Toronto's Cocaine Trade Takes a Hit
how-toVZCZCXRO1771 RR RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC DE RUEHON #0059 0601832 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 291832Z FEB 08 FM AMCONSUL TORONTO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2366 INFO RUCNCAN/ALCAN COLLECTIVE RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC RUEPINS/HQ BICE INTEL WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS TORONTO 000059
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM CA
SUBJECT: Toronto's Cocaine Trade Takes a Hit
UNCLAS TORONTO 000059
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM CA
SUBJECT: Toronto's Cocaine Trade Takes a Hit
1. In a one day sweep on Wednesday, February 27, Toronto Police
arrested 23 suspects in an undercover street-level drug dealing bust
that focused on Toronto's downtown Yonge Street strip. Toronto
Police have charged 19 people with 61 different offenses ranging
from drug dealing to conspiracy. Responding to citizens' concerns,
the Toronto Drug Squad, Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy
(TAVIS),and 52 Division's Community Response Unit and Vice units
undertook a two-week long probe, dubbed "Project Take the Money and
Run," which targeted drug transactions concentrating on Yonge-Dundas
Square, arcades along Yonge Street, nearby College Park, and the
Atrium on Bay. Police allege that undercover officers were able to
purchase quantities of drugs, primarily crack cocaine, from the
accused; the accused were selling drugs in locations frequented by
young people; and there was a hierarchy within the dealers, who were
using people with substance-abuse problems to move the drugs around
town for them. Thirteen other individuals are reportedly still
being sought in connection with this project.
2. One day before the street sweep in downtown Toronto, on Tuesday,
February 26, 2008, Canadian customs officers seized C$3.1 million
worth of cocaine at the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and
Windsor. The officers found about 25 kilograms of drugs inside a
tractor trailer headed for Toronto with a shipment of foam plates,
according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The cocaine
was divided into 20 cellophane-wrapped bricks and stashed inside two
duffle bags. A Kitchener, Ontario man is charged with importing a
controlled substance and possession of controlled substances for the
purpose of trafficking.
NAY
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM CA
SUBJECT: Toronto's Cocaine Trade Takes a Hit
1. In a one day sweep on Wednesday, February 27, Toronto Police
arrested 23 suspects in an undercover street-level drug dealing bust
that focused on Toronto's downtown Yonge Street strip. Toronto
Police have charged 19 people with 61 different offenses ranging
from drug dealing to conspiracy. Responding to citizens' concerns,
the Toronto Drug Squad, Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy
(TAVIS),and 52 Division's Community Response Unit and Vice units
undertook a two-week long probe, dubbed "Project Take the Money and
Run," which targeted drug transactions concentrating on Yonge-Dundas
Square, arcades along Yonge Street, nearby College Park, and the
Atrium on Bay. Police allege that undercover officers were able to
purchase quantities of drugs, primarily crack cocaine, from the
accused; the accused were selling drugs in locations frequented by
young people; and there was a hierarchy within the dealers, who were
using people with substance-abuse problems to move the drugs around
town for them. Thirteen other individuals are reportedly still
being sought in connection with this project.
2. One day before the street sweep in downtown Toronto, on Tuesday,
February 26, 2008, Canadian customs officers seized C$3.1 million
worth of cocaine at the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and
Windsor. The officers found about 25 kilograms of drugs inside a
tractor trailer headed for Toronto with a shipment of foam plates,
according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The cocaine
was divided into 20 cellophane-wrapped bricks and stashed inside two
duffle bags. A Kitchener, Ontario man is charged with importing a
controlled substance and possession of controlled substances for the
purpose of trafficking.
NAY