4 men in Ontario and Manitoba arrested in cocaine trafficking probe
Four men have been arrested in southern Ontario and rural Manitoba for their part in a sophisticated scheme to move large amounts of cocaine from Mexico into Canada, RCMP said Friday.
Three of the men, age 29, 48 and 56, were arrested in the Leamington, Ont., area by several police forces and the Canada Border Services Agency on Thursday, while Manitoba RCMP arrested a 35-year-old man at a rural property near Rosenort, Man.
The man arrested in Rosenort has been charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine and possessing cocaine, while the three Ontario men are charged with conspiracy to kidnap. Of those three, the 48-year-old and 29-year-old are also charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
The RCMP did not release any details related to the conspiracy to kidnap charges, but said the drug charges came following a two-year investigation into the importation and trafficking of cocaine.
Investigators determined that a criminal group was moving large amounts of cocaine from Mexico into Canada. More than two kilograms of cocaine were seized, along with "sophisticated concealment methods" allowing the drugs to be transported across borders undetected, said police.
"The result of this joint investigation demonstrates that provincial and international borders do not insulate organized crime from prosecution," Manitoba RCMP Insp. Tim Olmstead said in a news release.
Police say their investigation is ongoing.
