OPP's Project Pirate sees 36 arrested
May 14, 2008 - 05:52
DURHAM -- Three Durham Region residents are among dozens of people caught up in a massive drug and weapons bust announced this week by Ontario Provincial Police.
The local men, residents of Whitby and Ajax, were targeted during Project Pirate, a wide-ranging probe launched after two high-profile drug rip-offs in 2007, OPP said. The local men face drug and weapons charges and were among 36 people arrested on a total of 173 charges.
During the operation cops seized approximately 2,400 pounds of marijuana, 159 grams of cocaine and more than 2,000 ecstasy pills and are also using provincial proceeds of crime legislation to bring about the seizure of three homes and seven high-end vehicles.
The project came about as a result of two high-profile events:
- On June 13 last year OPP investigated a carjacking incident on Hwy. 401 near Belleville in which a man was shot in the stomach.
- Six innocent passersby were held hostage, shot at and pistol-whipped by an estimated dozen assailants after interrupting the men in the process of stealing a large marijuana crop near Minden.
The violent incidents precipitated a vow from OPP commissioner Julian Fantino that those involved would be tracked down and prosecuted. Police did not provide details on how those arrested are alleged to have participated in the crimes that sparked the probe.
Durham residents facing drug and weapons charges are Anthony Wong, 26, of Ajax; Cody Bernier, 22, of Whitby, and 20-year-old Joshua Siderius of Whitby.
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