12-03-2025
Illicit drugs, currency, firearms seized in Winnipeg following drug-trafficking investigation
A network of drug traffickers transported a large quantity of illicit drugs and firearms to Winnipeg from Toronto, Winnipeg police say.
Mail services, commercial airplanes, trains, off-road vehicles and boats as well as cars and trucks with hidden compartments were used to transport the drugs, Insp. Josh Ewatski of the Winnipeg Police Service's organized crime unit told reporters on Wednesday.
The drugs were distributed throughout Manitoba, including Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Thompson and Sandy Bay First Nation, Ewatski said.
The drug traffickers also targeted northern communities, including Norway House Cree Nation, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Nelson House Cree Nation and The Pas.
"These individuals were profiting off of these communities by selling cocaine, methamphetamine, hydromorphone and MDMA [ecstasy]," Ewatski said.
On Jan. 31, Winnipeg police issued multiple search warrants following a nine-month investigation dubbed Project Lowkey. Manitoba RCMP, Manitoba First Nations Police Service, and police in Saskatoon, Vancouver and Toronto assisted in the investigation.
So far, nine people have been arrested and face charges, including a 25-year-old man from Winnipeg and a 19-year-old man from Sandy Bay First Nation who were among those arrested in the province. Both have been charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Police are still searching for five people for their alleged involvement in the drug trafficking network, Ewatski said.
Police have seized seven loaded firearms, various types of ammunition, cocaine, methamphetamine, hydromorphone pills, drug packaging materials, Canadian currency and three vehicles.
