The Greater Sudbury Police Service, working in partnership with the Ontario Provincial Police, has laid multiple charges after disrupting a cocaine trafficking network. The investigation focused on drug traffickers in Greater Sudbury and Northern Ontario that were receiving large quantities of cocaine from Southern Ontario.
This was a two-month Joint Forces Operation between the Greater Sudbury Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police. The Greater Sudbury Police Service Integrated Crime Team consisting of the Drug Enforcement Unit, Intelligence Unit and Break Enter and Robbery Unit worked in collaboration with the Ontario Provincial Police Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and Biker Enforcement Unit to conduct this intricate investigation. The execution of this operation would not have been possible without the assistance of the Greater Sudbury Police Service Tactical Unit and the Thunder Bay Police Service.
A number of arrests were made over the course of the investigation that came to a conclusion this past weekend with the execution of search warrants at two Greater Sudbury residences.
As a result of this joint investigation, the following has been seized:
- 1.85 kilograms of cocaine
- 98 oxycodone tablets
- Quantities of morphine, cannabis marihuana and psilocybin
- Two prohibited sawed-off shotguns with ammunition
- One .41 calibre Magnum revolver
- Six non-restricted firearms
- Prohibited handgun ammunition
- Prohibited magazines for firearms
- 14 different types of ammunition
- Over $23,000 currency
- Two motor vehicles (offence related property)
The drugs seized are valued at over $187,000.
Police have laid 37 drug and weapons related offences against five separate individuals:
- Matti LOPONEN, 40, of Greater Sudbury
- Shawn METHE, 28, of Greater Sudbury
- Sylvain SPENARD, 56, of Thunder Bay
- Keyshatay SIMON, 38, of Thunder Bay
- David HYDE, 53, of Bradford
An additional woman was also arrested, on an outstanding arrest warrant, during the execution of one of the search warrants.
All charges are being processed through Greater Sudbury courts.
The Greater Sudbury Police Service Integrated Crime Team will continue to focus its efforts on major crime operations that pose a direct and elevated threat to the safety, security and wellness of our community. The Integrated Crime Team aims to identify and disrupt organized crime in Greater Sudbury through innovative technology, collaborative partnerships and traditional Police work resulting in the arrests of those involved, holding them accountable for their criminal activities and the seizure of illegal drugs, prohibited firearms and proceeds of crime.