Pubdate: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 Source: Review, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2008 Osprey Media Group Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/8den7vMS Website: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2907 Author: Peter Downs Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) POLICE MONITORING FALLOUT AFTER HUGE DRUG BUST Police are tracking the fallout of a large Niagara drug bust that netted 20 people, waiting to see who tries to pick up the slack in the local narcotics trade. "The key to investigations like this is not only taking those people out, but monitoring the streets and finding out who's going to take over that business from these guys," said Hamilton Police Insp. Ted Davis, who oversaw the joint forces operation. Davis was speaking Wednesday as Niagara Regional Police displayed cash, guns and drugs seized as part of a nine-month investigation into a St. Catharines drug-trafficking ring. The operation, dubbed Project O-Mercury, resulted in the seizure of 35 kilograms of marijuana, 120 marijuana plants, five kilograms of cocaine and $830,000 in cash. The cash was contained in a suitcase carried by a single courier arrested on the side of an undisclosed Ontario highway, Davis said. Police also seized 15 vehicles with an estimated total value of nearly $400,000, and several weapons, including four semi-automatic firearms and explosives. But it was getting hold of the cash that hurt the drug ring most, Davis said. "If we can take away the toys, the vehicles, the homes; if we can take the cash out of their hands, that's what makes the difference ... It puts a dint in their organization," he said. Project O-Mercury stemmed from an investigation into a "non-traditional" organized crime group operating in the region and the Golden Horseshoe. "It quickly became apparent that it had the potential to infiltrate the supply chain for the drugs of what we could categorize as mid-level dealers," NRP Chief Wendy Southall said. The NRP initiated a joint operation last January with the Golden Horseshoe Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, including drug enforcement officers from the RCMP, Hamilton Police, Halton Regional Police and Canada Border Services Agency. Investigators were able to intercept private communications between individuals, helping them identify dealers and drug couriers, Southall said. The people targeted were known to police. Many of them were arrested during a similar crackdown on drug trafficking in 2005. The first arrests were in April, with the bulk of them coming earlier this month when warrants were executed in St. Catharines. On Sept. 4, NRP officers raided a St. Catharines home on President Crescent and arrested several members of the Farinacci family, charging them with drug-trafficking and weapons offences. Two weeks later, police raided several locations in St. Catharines and Thorold and arrested four people, who now face drug and proceeds of crime charges. Police arrested 20 individuals, who face a combined total of more than 75 criminal charges. Investigators said arrest warrants have been issued for five other people, who have not been identified. "This investigation is still ongoing. There (are) still more people to be arrested and there's still more property and vehicles to be seized," Davis said. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath