POLICE RAIDS NET CASH, WEAPONS, DRUGS

40 People Arrested; 59 Kilos Of Meth, 400,000 Ecstasy Tablets And
Three Kilos Of Cocaine Seized

A wave of co-ordinated police raids early yesterday targeted dozens
of homes in Southern Ontario and Timmins, yielding cash, weapons and
quantities of drugs that Toronto Police Chief William Blair termed
"astounding."

Dubbed Project Blackhawk, the long-running investigation dates back
to 2006, when U.S. authorities told Canadian police that at least 237
handguns had been smuggled north.

The tipoff revealed "a vast manufacturing and distribution network of
illegal narcotics," Chief Blair said yesterday.

As often seen in the past, the core of the operation is alleged to
have been a two-way pipeline: Cocaine and handguns were being shipped
to Canada, while methamphetamine, ecstasy and Canadian-grown
hydroponic marijuana were smuggled south.

Seized yesterday were 59 kilograms of methamphetamine, 400,000
ecstasy tablets, three kilograms of cocaine, 60 kilograms of
marijuana, 35 handguns of different calibres, tens of thousands of
illicitly manufactured Viagra-like pills, and several vehicles said
to have been modified to conceal guns and drugs.

And a related raid in April on a huge alleged drug lab inside a
Mississauga industrial complex turned up an even larger haul: more
than 4,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and other drugs.

In all, the street value of the drugs totalled around $160-million,
Chief Blair said.

About 40 people were arrested yesterday and most were taken to
Toronto's 23 Division police station in the city's north end.

Their names and the charges they face were not immediately disclosed,
but among the homes raided was a Bellair Street condominium in
Toronto's trendy Yorkville district, a television station reported,
along with an expensive apartment near Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue.

Other suspects were picked up in Waterloo, Guelph, South Simcoe and Timmins.

"This is not a street gang," Chief Blair said. "This is a highly
organized, highly successful criminal enterprise."

Yesterday's arrests and seizures were made by heavily armed officers
from the Toronto, York, Durham and Peel police forces, along with
members of the Ontario Provincial Police's weapons enforcement unit.

Further details are to be released today.