COPS DISMANTLE ONTARIO DRUG RING

Police busted what they called a major drug-trafficking ring in raids
across southwestern Ontario yesterday that included four arrests in Toronto.

After a 10-month investigation, a joint force of Waterloo, Hamilton,
Stratford, Toronto and Guelph police arrested 30 people throughout the day.

Most of the accused appeared briefly in a Kitchener courtroom yesterday
afternoon, some handcuffed together in pairs or in threes to face charges
ranging from drug trafficking to conspiracy, money laundering, kidnapping,
extortion, assault and proceeds of crime. Some appeared dazed by the
charges, with one young woman crying. They were to return to court today.

The four from Toronto -- three men and a woman -- were expected to face
charges today in a Kitchener court.

More than 175 police officers took part in the arrests.

About $365,000 worth of cocaine, methamphetamines, ecstasy and cannabis
resin was seized from Toronto and across the province throughout the
investigation, which began last Oct. 31.

Officers raided 10 homes in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and New Hamburg
early yesterday. About 12 kilograms of cocaine, worth several million
dollars, was seized yesterday, said Staff Sgt. Bryan Larkin of Waterloo
Region police.

"This is best described as a corporation looking (for a market)," Larkin
said. "We believe we dismantled the crime ring in southwestern Ontario."

Torstar News Service