Project Onyx, an inter-provincial investigation into the activities of a Manitoba-based drug network, has resulted in thirteen people being charged along with millions of dollars worth of drugs, firearms and vehicles seized.
Winnipeg Police Service Organized Crime Unit began the investigation in the Spring of 2022.
Investigators say that the drug network had a number of drug traffickers and couriers importing large amounts of cocaine, Meth and MDMA from Ontario and British Columbia. The organization brought the drugs into the province in a number of ways including through commercial shipping, airlines and highway-based drug couriers. The drugs would then be distributed throughout Manitoba.
Investigators executed 26 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrants. Most of the warrants (24) were executed in Winnipeg with one being executed in Coquitlam, British Columbia and one in Niverville, about 32 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.
Items seized during the investigation include:
- Approximately $500,000 in cash
- 50 kilograms of cocaine (with an estimated street value of $5,000,000)
- 20 kilograms of methamphetamine (with an estimated street value of $2,000,000)
- A Smith & Wesson .40 calibre semi-automatic handgun with magazines and ammunition
- A loaded GSG 1911 .22 calibre semi-automatic handgun
- A Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic handgun with ammunition
- 12 vehicles (including a 2013 BMW X3, a BMW sedan, a 2017 Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV and a 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class SUV.)
Police say that they are also in the process of reviewing the seizure of several properties.
