OPP find 81 grenades, guns and drugs in 'shocking' weapons seizure linked to biker gang
Ten people - including four locals - were arrested and charged with a total of 268 offences after an eight-month Ontario Provincial Police probe into alleged criminal networks involved in drug and weapon trafficking across southwestern Ontario.
Two of the networks are alleged to be involved in the trafficking of guns, cocaine and explosives in Brantford.
Police announced Thursday the seizure of 81 grenades, 31 firearms, 22 prohibited devices, three explosive projectiles and two grenade launchers as part of the sweeping crackdown..
More than 10.85 kilograms of cocaine, 216 pounds of illicit cannabis, 36 pounds of magic mushrooms, 715 grams of MDMA, $127,757 in cash and eight vehicles were also seized.
Police said the busts, dubbed Project Weaver, spanned four independent criminal syndicates with ties to an outlaw motorcycle club in London police allege is involved in cocaine trafficking.
The head of the OPP's biker enforcement unit said in an interview the sheer volume of dangerous weapons seized was shocking."
I can say in my 20-plus years of investigating organized crime, I haven't run into this type of weaponry or the volume of it," said Staff Sgt. Scott Wade. It is something we're very concerned with, but we're confident we've heavily disrupted this trafficking network."
The investigation - which began last September and involved 22 municipal police forces, including Hamilton and Brantford - revealed large amounts of drugs and weapons were being trafficked across several jurisdictions in Ontario.
Wade said the Canadian Forces determined the explosives seized were not sourced from the military. Investigators are confident a source has been identified, he said.
The exact origin of the 31 firearms remains unclear, Wade added, but police believe they came from Canada and the U.S.
Of the 10 people facing charges, two are from Brantford, one is from Ancaster and another is from Paris.
Wade could not confirm if the locals have ties to biker gangs, but said the OPP's biker enforcement unit investigates all outlaw motorcycle gang activity, whether it be members or associates."
A 32-year-old Ancaster man faces 126 weapon- and drug-related charges, including possession and transfer of explosive substances, specifically grenades and grenade launchers, police say.
Two 31-year-old Brantford men face a combined 73 charges.
A 36-year-old Paris woman faces eight charges, the bulk of them related to cocaine trafficking and possession of firearms.
Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com