5 arrested in Ontario’s largest-ever meth bust
Posted September 5, 2013 2:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VAUGHAN, Ont. – Five people from Ontario face numerous charges following the largest drug lab bust in Ontario history.
The value of illegal drugs seized is around $5-million.
Members of the Asian Organized Crime Task Force (AOCTF) revealed details during a news conference in Vaughan, Ont., Thursday.
In late July, police searched seven homes and businesses across the Greater Toronto Area, as well as two in the Campbellford and Warkworth areas.
Three drug labs were dismantled — in Aurora, Campbellford and Warkworth.
“One site was guarded by a bear trap that had been shrouded in leaves,” OPP Chief Supt. Mike Armstrong said.
“Police seized 120 kilograms of pure methamphetamine, 110,483 meth pills, 14 kilograms of meth powder, five vehicles and $81,000 in cash,” Armstrong said.
More than 3,000 kilograms of chemicals were also located in a storage unit in Markham.
Despite the name of the task force, Det.-Staff Sgt. Dominic Chong, who leads the task force, said this isn’t just an Asian crime.
“Ninety-nine-point-nine per cent are law-abiding citizens — there’s that one small portion that decide they want to commit a crime, and our job is to target them,” Det.-Staff Sgt. Chong said.
He said other organized crime groups also deal in meth, which is an incredibly dangerous drug.
Given the size of the operation, police suspect the drugs were headed outside of Canada.
Two of the men arrested are from Campbellford, two others are from Aurora, and one is from Markham.
The task force included officers from Toronto Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Peel Regional Police, York Regional Police, and Canada Border Services.
