UPDATE: Charged are Jason Tessier, 35, of Sudbury, Jessica Gosselin, 22, of Sudbury, Mathew Thomsen, 31, of Toronto, Dylan Mazur, 25, of Sudbury, Kristopher McArthur, 21, of Sudbury. The five face a total of 17 charges including possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
The police have charged five people following a drug bust in Sudbury late the night of April 24.
Police officers with the Greater Sudbury Police Service and the OPP seized over 1,200 grams of cocaine with a street value of $120,000, almost 30 grams of marijuana worth $250 and more than $23,000 in cash, said Chief of Police Ian Davidson.
"For drugs to reach the street, organized crime is involved," he said.
The police arrested the men after searching houses at 2044 Bancroft Dr. and 155 Eyre St., Apt. 4 in Sudbury, as well as a rental car from the Toronto area.
Acting Inspector Robert Keetch, who is in charge of criminal investigations, added the drugs originated in Toronto.
The raid was part of Project Digger, a joint operation between the two forces launched six years ago.
"Crack cocaine is at the top of the list of drugs being used in Sudbury," Davidson said, adding people who are hooked on cocaine get drawn into other crimes, like property crime, break and enter, prostitution, and crimes of violence to feed their addiction.
If news of the arrest wasn't troubling enough, Davidson said the police had seized between $800,000 and $1 million in drugs over the last three months.
Although the chief called Thursday's arrest insignificant, he said it represented just a small portion of the drugs being delivered into the community.
Davidson said the arrests were the product of a mountain of dangerous work.
"It takes an awful lot of work to do this kind of investigation," he said.
However, the police are tackling the city's drug problem, in conjunction with other agencies, that alert young people to the dangers of drugs.
"For every kilo we take off the streets, there's many more to be found," Davidson said.
The police said they will be conducting more drug searches and hope to make additional arrests.
"If you're harbouring cocaine in this community for a drug dealer, you're at risk," the chief said.
