Orillia (Feb 22) – A joint operation involving the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the United States Homeland Security has led to the largest gun seizure in the province.
In a press conference held Thursday morning, the OPP announced that the joint investigation called Project Saxom had resulted in the seizure of 274 illegal firearms.
Of these, 106 were seized in Ontario, making it the largest seizure of handguns and assault-style rifles in the province’s history.
The remaining 168 were seized in the US, before they enterred Canada.
Project Saxom involved infiltrating a group of individuals seeking to traffick illegal firearms in the Greater Toronto Area. Police said the investigation revealed that several of the accused who were part of criminal networks were also trafficking drugs.
Investigators executed 17 search warrants in the GTA and Niagara Region on February 13 and 14. Among the items seized were 88 illegal handguns, 18 long guns, 22 prohibited knives, 74 prohibited firearm magazines and around 1,700 rounds of ammunition.
Police also found a huge quantity of drugs including approximately 23 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 1 kilogram of high-potency fentany, 688 suspected fentanyl pills, 1.3 kilograms of suspected cocaine, 197 grams of suspected heroin and 877 opioid pills.
Investigators said that 16 people were arrested in Ontario in connection with the bust and over 275 charges laid. The street value of the drugs and guns seized in Ontario is around $3.25 million.
