Latest news with #Duraiappah
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Hamilton Spectator
$50 million worth of cocaine seized, nine arrested in largest combined drug seizure in Peel police history: ‘A seismic blow to organized crime'
A routine inspection took an unexpected turn at the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Windsor in February. Investigators say Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers had flagged a transport truck for secondary screening, pulled it aside and opened the trailer. Inside, they say they found 110 bricks of cocaine, 127 kilograms in total, with a street value of $12.7 million. Officers arrested the driver. That seizure was just part of what Peel police are calling the largest drug bust in the service's history. Nearly 500 kilograms of cocaine have been seized. Nine men have been arrested. And a year-long investigation — known as Project Pelican — has dismantled what police describe as a transnational organized crime network trafficking illegal drugs into the GTA. Police in the Greater Toronto Area say they have seized 479 kilograms of cocaine and arrested nine people in a transnational drug bust. Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah says it marks the largest drug bust in the service's history. He says the investigation started in June 2024 when investigators uncovered a criminal network using commercial trucks to smuggle drugs across the U.S. border into Canada. (June 10, 2025 / The Canadian Press) 'This is a seismic blow to organized crime,' Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said Tuesday at a press conference flanked by senior officers and government officials. Behind him sat portions of the seized 479 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $47.9 million. Peel police said Project Pelican was the largest single drug seizure in the force's history. The year-long operation began after police began investigating a cocaine smuggling operation using U.S.-Canada commercial trucking routes. 'In Peel, we have the largest logistics hub outside of Los Angeles,' Duraiappah said. 'What that means is vulnerabilities in logistics systems can be exploited by criminal networks to their advantage.' For Project Pelican, Peel police enlisted help from covert officers working closely with the CBSA, the RCMP, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other partners. Investigators tracked trucking companies, identified drivers and mapped the network's storage facilities, said Det. Sgt. Earl Scott, Project Pelican's case manager. Multiple individuals, trucking companies and storage sites were identified by November, police say. After the 127 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Windsor, another truck was pulled aside at the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia last month. Hidden within the trailer, investigators say they found 50 more kilograms of cocaine. The driver was arrested. Throughout the investigation, additional seizures were also made across the GTA in connection with commercial trucking by Peel police. Investigators say they executed a series of co-ordinated search warrants involving 60 officers in Peel region and Toronto, resulting in arrests. When some of those individuals were arrested, police said they had loaded firearms. 'This is a significant quantity of drugs that will never make it into our communities,' said Abeid Morgan, the director of intelligence and enforcement for the Canada Border Services Agency's southern Ontario region. The nine men arrested, ranging in age from 27 to 44, are now facing 35 combined charges related to drugs and firearms. All are residents of southern Ontario. Of the nine men, three are awaiting bail hearings at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton. The other six have been released with conditions. Project Pelican is still ongoing, and it's part of a broader trend of illegal drugs entering Canada from Mexico through the U.S. using logistics companies, said Peel police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich. While the source of the seized cocaine is still under investigation, Scott said many cross-border trafficking cases he's worked on have originated in Mexico. Also on Tuesday, the Ontario Provincial Police announced a 'historic seizure' of 43.5 kilograms of fentanyl. Officers seized the bulk of it — roughly 38 kilograms, the OPP's largest fentanyl seizure — during Project Golden, an 11-month investigation that looked into a multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking network that spanned several communities in southwestern Ontario. A second investigation from the OPP, Project Bionic, led to the seizure of over 27 kilograms and 64,000 tablets of 37 different illegal and prescription drugs. The total seized amount from both investigations would be enough for about 435,000 potentially lethal street-level doses, OPP said. 'We're aware of the trends. We're seeing more illegal drugs than we have before,' Milinovich said. 'As long as the trend continues, you can expect to see more arrests.' Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner acknowledged the scale of the effort. The province had invested $150,000 directly into Project Pelican. 'Seizures like this make a huge difference in the well-being of our Ontario communities,' Kerzner said. 'Whenever we get illicit substances off our streets, we are quite literally saving lives.' Speaking at Tuesday's news conference, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown thanked officers for their efforts in the investigation. 'The city, the region, the country is safer because of their work,' he said. 'I'm sure there could be movies done on some of these Peel police investigations.' On Tuesday, June 10, Peel Regional Police will announce results of Project Pelican. A transnational drug smuggling investigation. e.
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
$50M worth of cocaine seized, nine arrested in largest combined drug seizure in Peel police history: ‘A seismic blow to organized crime'
A routine inspection took an unexpected turn at the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Windsor in February. Investigators say Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers had flagged a transport truck for secondary screening, pulled it aside and opened the trailer. Inside, they say they found 110 bricks of cocaine, 127 kilograms in total, with a street value of $12.7 million. Officers arrested the driver. That seizure was just part of what Peel police are calling the largest drug bust in the service's history. Nearly 500 kilograms of cocaine have been seized. Nine men have been arrested. And a year-long investigation — known as Project Pelican — has dismantled what police describe as a transnational organized crime network trafficking illegal drugs into the GTA. Police in the Greater Toronto Area say they have seized 479 kilograms of cocaine and arrested nine people in a transnational drug bust. Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah says it marks the largest drug bust in the service's history. He says the investigation started in June 2024 when investigators uncovered a criminal network using commercial trucks to smuggle drugs across the U.S. border into Canada. (June 10, 2025 / The Canadian Press) 'This is a seismic blow to organized crime,' Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said Tuesday at a press conference flanked by senior officers and government officials. Behind him sat portions of the seized 479 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $47.9 million. Peel police said Project Pelican was the largest single drug seizure in the force's history. The year-long operation began after police began investigating a cocaine smuggling operation using U.S.-Canada commercial trucking routes. 'In Peel, we have the largest logistics hub outside of Los Angeles,' Duraiappah said. 'What that means is vulnerabilities in logistics systems can be exploited by criminal networks to their advantage.' For Project Pelican, Peel police enlisted help from covert officers working closely with the CBSA, the RCMP, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other partners. Investigators tracked trucking companies, identified drivers and mapped the network's storage facilities, said Det. Sgt. Earl Scott, Project Pelican's case manager. Multiple individuals, trucking companies and storage sites were identified by November, police say. After the 127 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Windsor, another truck was pulled aside at the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia last month. Hidden within the trailer, investigators say they found 50 more kilograms of cocaine. The driver was arrested. Throughout the investigation, additional seizures were also made across the GTA in connection with commercial trucking by Peel police. Investigators say they executed a series of co-ordinated search warrants involving 60 officers in Peel region and Toronto, resulting in arrests. When some of those individuals were arrested, police said they had loaded firearms. 'This is a significant quantity of drugs that will never make it into our communities,' said Abeid Morgan, the director of intelligence and enforcement for the Canada Border Services Agency's southern Ontario region. The nine men arrested, ranging in age from 27 to 44, are now facing 35 combined charges related to drugs and firearms. All are residents of southern Ontario. Of the nine men, three are awaiting bail hearings at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton. The other six have been released with conditions. Project Pelican is still ongoing, and it's part of a broader trend of illegal drugs entering Canada from Mexico through the U.S. using logistics companies, said Peel police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich. While the source of the seized cocaine is still under investigation, Scott said many cross-border trafficking cases he's worked on have originated in Mexico. Also on Tuesday, the Ontario Provincial Police announced a 'historic seizure' of 43.5 kilograms of fentanyl. Officers seized the bulk of it — roughly 38 kilograms, the OPP's largest fentanyl seizure — during Project Golden, an 11-month investigation that looked into a multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking network that spanned several communities in southwestern Ontario. A second investigation from the OPP, Project Bionic, led to the seizure of over 27 kilograms and 64,000 tablets of 37 different illegal and prescription drugs. The total seized amount from both investigations would be enough for about 435,000 potentially lethal street-level doses, OPP said. 'We're aware of the trends. We're seeing more illegal drugs than we have before,' Milinovich said. 'As long as the trend continues, you can expect to see more arrests.' Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner acknowledged the scale of the effort. The province had invested $150,000 directly into Project Pelican. 'Seizures like this make a huge difference in the well-being of our Ontario communities,' Kerzner said. 'Whenever we get illicit substances off our streets, we are quite literally saving lives.' Speaking at Tuesday's news conference, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown thanked officers for their efforts in the investigation. 'The city, the region, the country is safer because of their work,' he said. 'I'm sure there could be movies done on some of these Peel police investigations.' On Tuesday, June 10, Peel Regional Police will announce results of Project Pelican. A transnational drug smuggling investigation. e.
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
Almost $50 million in cocaine found hidden in trucks crossing into Canada from U.S., police say
A cross-border drug smuggling network using commercial truck drivers to haul large loads of cocaine across the border from the United States into Canada has been revealed by police in southern Ontario, leading to the arrest of nine men and the seizure of 479 kilograms of bulk cocaine bricks. Of the nine arrested, six have since been released on bail while three are still awaiting bail hearings after what Peel Regional Police described Tuesday as the largest drug bust in the police service's history. Investigators gave the cocaine an estimated retail street value (based on a per-gram level) of $47.9 million. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. More than a third of the cocaine was caught at the border, reflecting a significant trend in the flow of drugs: from Mexico into the United States and then smuggled into Canada hidden aboard commercial transport trucks. The importations were destined for Peel Region, located to the west and northwest of Toronto and encompassing the cities of Mississauga and Brampton and the town of Caledon. It is a large commercial trucking and distribution point, and home to the Toronto Pearson International Airport. 'Here in Peel, we have the largest logistics hub outside of Los Angeles, and what that means is that vulnerabilities in logistic systems can be exploited by criminal networks to their advantage,' said Peel's Chief of Police Nishan Duraiappah. The Peel probe, in collaboration with other Canadian and American agencies, identified commercial trucking companies and storage facilities connected to the smuggling operation, he said. 'This represents a seismic blow to transnational organized crime … these drugs came from south of the border and were destined right here in Peel and the greater Toronto area and other communities in Canada. And what they do is represent secondary and tertiary criminal acts, vulnerabilities and harm that damage our communities right across Ontario and beyond.' The arrests and seizures, called Project Pelican, follow recent similar arrests , indictments and seizures in the United States of several American, Canadian and Mexican citizens who were using commercial transport trucks to smuggle tonnes of cocaine into Ontario and Montreal. The U.S. cases linked Los Angeles to Brampton through trucking operations. Project Pelican began a year ago when investigators with Peel police's Specialized Enforcement Bureau learned of an organized criminal network smuggling drugs into Peel region, Duraiappah said. Det.-Sgt. Earl Scott, case manager for Project Pelican, said the importations were 'a well-organized criminal enterprise.' Peel investigators worked with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers to stop and search two specific trucks crossing into Canada. On Feb. 11, border agents at Ambassador Bridge crossing in Windsor sent a tractor trailer arriving in Canada for a secondary examination based on intelligence developed during the probe, said Abid Morgan, CBSA's director of intelligence and enforcement for the Southern Ontario region. CBSA officers, aided by a drug sniffing detector dog, found 110 bricks of suspected cocaine that weighed 127 kg. One person was arrested and charged. On May 24, border agents at the Bluewater Bridge border crossing in Sarnia sent an arriving tractor trailer for a secondary examination, again based on intelligence developed during the investigation. CBSA officers used a detector dog and a large-scale imaging truck and found 57 kg of suspected cocaine, CBSA said. One person was arrested and charged. 'This is a significant quantity of drugs that will never make it into our communities,' Morgan said. The suspected cocaine was found hidden in the trailers of two tractor trailer trucks. In addition to the two border stops and arrests, a series of coordinated search warrants and arrests took place around Peel region and in Toronto, involving more than 60 officers. Two of those arrested in the probe were in possession of loaded guns, Scott said. The men arrested had no, or very little, known criminal background, he said. The investigation continues, police said. Peel's Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said the problem is acute. 'This is connected to a trend that we're seeing,' he said. 'And without commenting specifically on this investigation that trend is illegal drugs coming from Mexico through the U.S. using logistics companies to bring them to Canada. And not specific to this investigation, we're aware of the trends. We're seeing more illegal drugs than we have before.' Milinovich said the amount of drugs seized was important enough, but the operation becomes impressive because of how difficult such transnational investigations can be. 'When you consider that with the complexity of the way crime has evolved today, the face of crime, it's no longer a person within your jurisdiction that's responsible for it, it's transnational crime with complexity and barriers attached to it,' Milinovich said. 'Every gram every kilogram that we stop from coming to our community saves lives. Every firearm, illegal firearm, that we seize off the street saves lives.' The investigation also involved the RCMP, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario. • Email: ahumphreys@ | Twitter: AD_Humphreys Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
Record $48M cocaine bust dismantles transnational crime network: Peel police
Peel Regional Police say they have dismantled a major transnational criminal network responsible for smuggling vast quantities of cocaine into the Greater Toronto Area, following the largest drug seizure in the service's history. The year-long investigation, dubbed Project Pelican, resulted in the seizure of 479 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $47.9 million. In a news release early Tuesday, police say they partnered with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations to track cocaine shipments moving through commercial trucking routes between the U.S. and Canada. 'Thanks to the leadership of Peel Regional Police and the support of national and international law enforcement agencies, along with the Government of Ontario, a transnational criminal network is no longer operating or flooding our communities with illicit drugs from the United States,' said Chief Nishan Duraiappah. Story continues below advertisement 'This seizure marks the largest drug seizure in the history of our service,' Duraiappah added. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Between February and May 2025, intelligence from Peel officers led to two major busts at Ontario border crossings. At the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, 127 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in a commercial trailer, and another 50 kilograms were seized in a similar concealment at Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward. Both drivers were arrested on the spot, with help from RCMP officers. Additional searches in the GTA led to further cocaine seizures and the discovery of two loaded, illegal semi-automatic handguns, according to the release. Nine men from across southern Ontario have been arrested and face a combined total of 35 charges related to drug trafficking and firearms offences. All of the accused appeared for bail hearings at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton. Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner praised the outcome of Project Pelican and warned organized crime networks that such operations will be found. 'Project Pelican is proof of what police can accomplish when they have the tools and resources needed to keep our communities safe,' Kerzner said. 'This historic seizure sends a clear message to organized crime; you will find no safe haven in Ontario.' Story continues below advertisement CBSA officials also highlighted the operation as a powerful example of international teamwork. 'These significant seizures and arrests demonstrate the strength of our collaboration with law enforcement partners on both sides of the border,' said Michael Prosia, regional director general for CBSA Southern Ontario. 'Together, we are committed to dismantling organized crime groups and keeping harmful drugs out of our communities,' he added. Peel Police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact authorities or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.
News.com.au
24-04-2025
- News.com.au
Man shot, killed at major airport
Police shot and killed an armed man at one of the world's biggest international airports on Thursday, local time. The death occurred at Toronto's Pearson International Airport Thursday causing a 'logistic nightmare' at Canada's busiest air gateway. The man, in his 30s, allegedly pulled out a gun when police responded to a report of a 'man in distress' inside of an SUV outside of Terminal 1 just before 7am on Thursday (9pm AEST) prompting three officers to open fire, according to Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, reports the New York Post. The unidentified man was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. No officers were injured, authorities said. The shooting 'is an isolated incident and there are no known threats to public safety,' the Peel Police Department said. Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the group knew each other and were there 'for the purposes of travel'. Three officers responded and they had tried to mediate the dispute for around 10 minutes. However, the man la; allegedly then took out a gun and pointed it at an officer, Mr Duraiappah said. Witness Danilo Simic told Canada's public broadcaster CBC News he had just dropped off a friend when he heard at least 10 loud bangs — which stopped travellers at the airport dead in their tracks. 'Right away I thought, this can't be a car's loud exhaust. This is something different, something that I haven't heard before,' he said. Mr Simic told the outlet he saw a man lying on the ground bleeding from his torso and head as he drove away. An officer was giving him CPR and other cops were holding back a woman from the scene, he said. Former Toronto police homicide detective Mark Mendelson described the shooting as a 'logistic nightmare' given the amount of people coming and going from the busy airport. 'This is the peak time at Pearson, this hour of the day. Lots of US flights going out, lots of Caribbean flights going out, lots of planes coming in as well,' he told CP24. 'There is an enormous amount of people. Well over 100,000 people in this particular sort of timeslot.' In February, Toronto Airport was the location of a starling plane accident when a Delta jet landed in icy weather and flipped upside down on the runway.
