Investigators from Project CAIRNES and officers with Ontario Provincial Police successfully seized targeted contraband on June 1st 2020. The project's target was seizing illegally manufactured and distributed tobacco, cannabis products, and other narcotics.
Investigators from the Project CAIRNES team executed 13 search warrants in five Ontario locations. The town of Oakville was one of these locations. Significant enforcement action has taken place in several locations throughout Canada, including Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.
All locations are in relation to the the illegal manufacturing and distribution of contraband tobacco and illicit cannabis.
The other Ontario locations include Toronto, Markham, Mississauga and Ohsweken. Seizures also occurred in other Canadian cities: Montreal, Quebec and both Richmond and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Project CAIRNES commenced in July 2018 when the Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team (CTET) began an investigation into the trafficking of contraband tobacco from a manufacturing facility.
The investigation revealed tobacco was being assembled into contraband cigarettes at this facility. After which, product was being trafficked to other parts of Ontario and Canada, including British Columbia, and subsequently sold on the street.
Project CAIRNES believes them to be affiliated with TOC
The accused are closely associated with members of Traditional Organized Crime (TOC) and other organized crime groups. In addition to the production and trafficking of contraband tobacco, the team uncovered drug trafficking networks.
These networks were responsible for large shipments of illicit cannabis occurring on a weekly basis from British Columbia to Ontario. The manufacturing facility is located on Six Nations Territory. It has been operated, however, by an organized crime group and is unregulated.
This operation is not a legal, regulated cigarette manufacturing operation. The criminal organization controlling these facilities is confirmed to be from the Greater Toronto Area.
Residents of the Six Nations Territory have not seen any investment into their communities from the profits of this illegal operation and it has in no way benefitted the community.
Six (6) people were arrested and charged with 98 offences on April 18 this year when a threat to public safety was uncovered. These arrests were based on evidence gathered throughout the duration of the project. But it was also based on the identification of a cocaine and fentanyl trafficking network operating in the GTA.
The charges laid include conspiracy to commit murder, firearms possession, drug trafficking and driving-related offences.
Project CAIRNS has led to the seizure of:
- 11.5 million contraband cigarettes with an Ontario street value of $942,000 and British Columbia street value of $2.6 million;
- 1,714 pounds of cannabis with an estimated street value of $2.5 million;
- A cocaine press;
- 1.14 kilograms of cocaine,
- 10.2 kilograms of Piperidone;
- 1.3 kilograms of fentanyl;
- $236,750 in CAD currency;
- Seven (7) vehicles as Offence-Related Property.
Collectively, the tax loss associated including Provincial, Federal and HST has been more than $3.3 million. The figure is based on the contraband cigarettes that were seized throughout the investigation.
The enforcement action on June 1st concluded with the arrest of 10 individuals charged with 120 offences. A total of 16 people have been arrested for 218 offences throughout Project CAIRNES. A complete list can be found in the Addendum of Charged Persons.
All of the accused have been charged and released, and will attend an Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on dates in July and August.
Details about this story are from the OPP's Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and Detective Inspector Jim Walker.