More Drug Seizures and Arrests in Ontario

UNCLAS TORONTO 000069 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR KCRM PGOV CA SUBJECT: More Drug Seizures and Arrests in Ontario REF: (A) Toronto 59 (B) 07 Toronto 448 Sensitive But Unclassified - Protect Accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Over the past two months, Toronto Police rounded up 96 street-level drug dealers in western Toronto. The retail-level arrests come on the heels of a separate Toronto Police undercover operation that arrested 23 drug dealers in the downtown core of the city. On February 27 the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized a land border record of 230 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of C$28.7 million from a transport truck at the Blue Water Bridge near Sarnia, Ontario. We are encouraged by Toronto Police efforts to identify and arrest small but visible street-level drug dealers. END SUMMARY. -------------- Toronto Police Tackle Retail Drug Trade -------------- ¶2. (U) On Monday, February 4, 2008, Toronto Police units began a five week undercover drug trafficking investigation dubbed Project I.C.E. (Infiltrate Crack Entrepreneurs) to address community concerns about drug trafficking in five Toronto neighborhoods. As of March 11, 2008 96 suspects have been arrested and 238 drug related charges filed. 45 of those arrested were free on bail or probation when they were arrested for the new offences. Police targeted five neighborhoods in the western areas of Toronto. A wide variety of illicit drugs were seized including: 318 grams of cocaine and crack with a street value of C$31,800; 415 grams of marijuana with a street value of C$800; C$10,798 in cash proceeds of designated drug offences; and other drugs including hashish (cannabis sativa),Special K (ketamine),ecstasy, (MDMA-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine),GHB (Gamma hydroxybutyrate), LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide),and Magic Mushroom (Psilocybin). ¶3. (U) Project I.C.E. comes on the heels of two other similar large-scale undercover drug busts. Operation "Take the Money and Run," on February 27, 2008 led to 23 arrests and 61 drug-related charges against street-level drug dealers in and around Toronto's downtown Yonge Street corridor (ref (A)). In September, 2007, a ten-month long joint investigation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents led the RCMP to arrest 11 Toronto-area residents and ICE to arrest 12 people in the U.S. for drug trafficking (ref (B)). -------------- Cocaine Seized on its Way to Toronto -------------- ¶4. (U) On February 27 the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized 129 bricks of cocaine weighing 230 kilograms with an estimated street value of C$28.7 million, the largest land border seizure in Canadian history, from the cab of a transport truck at the Blue Water Bridge near Sarnia, Ontario. The truck driver, a Toronto-area resident, was arrested and charged with unlawfully importing drugs and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. That seizure followed by just one day a February 26 seizure by CBSA officers of C$3.1 million worth of cocaine at the Detroit/Windsor Ambassador Bridge (ref (A)). ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: We are encouraged by Toronto Police efforts to clean up city streets by identifying and arresting small but visible retail-level drug dealers. The CBSA record cocaine seizures at major U.S.-Ontario border crossings are also extremely positive. Ontario-based law enforcement agencies are working hard to combat the drug trade through a series of highly successful undercover drug projects. Yet, the recent significant seizures along the U.S.-Ontario border demonstrate the continued profitability of the trans-border drug trade and the importance of continued information sharing and operational cooperation between U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies in stemming the flow of drugs, guns, and illicit cash across the border. END COMMENT. NAY 1