Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jul 2007 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2007, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://torontosun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457 Author: Rob Lamberti, Sun Media T.O. COP NABBED IN DRUG RING BUST 25 Arrested In U.S.-Canada Raids A Toronto traffic unit constable was among 25 people rounded up yesterday as police across Canada and in the United States shut down a drug ring that swapped B.C. marijuana for cocaine. Ioan-Florin Floria, 34, with eight years service, was suspended with pay as he was charged with breach of trust, attempt to obstruct justice, being an accessory after the fact of kidnapping and laundering proceeds of crime. He was granted bail yesterday by a Scarborough judge. Professional Standards Unit Supt. Chris White alleged that Floria had a close association with the crime group, whose members share an Eastern European heritage from Hungary, Albania and Romania. He said Floria is alleged to have used his position as a cop to conduct illegal and unauthorized searches of people on the Canadian Police Information Centre computer system "to assist this organization." White said Floria allegedly taught members of the gang how to avoid police detection while trafficking drugs. But most disturbingly, the suspended officer is accused of knowing that gang members were allegedly involved in two violent kidnappings but didn't tell authorities about it. EARLY MORNING Drug Squad Staff-Insp. Don Campbell said the officer was among the arrested in the 5 a.m. raids involving police from Peel, York, the DEA, Sterling Heights police in Michigan, the RCMP, Canada Immigration and Customs and the U.S. Marshal Service. Charges include conspiracy to export marijuana, trafficking marijuana, possession for the purpose of trafficking and firearms-related charges. He said there were three kidnappings in the Toronto area during the eight-month project, Mascinzana/Osigns, which in part stemmed from a previous police probe into organized crime. Campbell said police intervened to rescue one kidnapping target accused by the gang of stealing marijuana in the U.S. that had really been seized by police. "Physically and mentally, they were abused," Campbell said of the two other victims. He said police stepped in in the last kidnapping because "knowing the other two were so violent, we had to stop it." Police seized about 1,000 pounds of marijuana, valued at $3 million, a kilo of cocaine worth about $30,000, two stolen vehicles, three handguns, $487,000 Canadian and $41,000 in U.S. currency, Police executed 29 raids in British Columbia, Toronto, Mississauga and Vaughan. More arrests are expected in Canada and the U.S. Campbell said the marijuana was shipped to Toronto and then to the Michigan by water, road and rail. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek