Police have made a “very significant dent” in the amount of organized crime taking place in Greater Sudbury, said Greater Sudbury Police Chief Frank Elsner.
In one of the largest efforts to take down organized crime in the city, Greater Sudbury Police Service joined forced with the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP in Project Nickel. After more than five months of investigation, 83 people have been arrested and face a combined total of 403 criminal charges and 292 drug charges, said Elsner.
In total, police seized 34 grams of cocaine, 265 grams of crack cocaine, 444 Oxycontin pills, 842 illegal prescription pills (including hydromorphone, codeine, morphine and ecstasy), 26 fentanyl patches and 200 grams of marijuana — for a total value of about $130,000.
Furthermore, officers seized $10,500 in Canadian currency, more than $15,000 in stolen merchandise and five vehicles. A number of weapons were also seized including two hand guns and a number of prohibited weapons, including bear spray, knives and a Taser.
The individuals arrested through Project Nickel face charges of trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of restricted weapons, possession of property obtained by crime and break, enter and theft.
Greater Sudbury Police Service has been involved with a number of these project in the past 20 years, said Staff Sgt. Al Asunmaa.
“This one I would consider one of the largest when it comes to the number of individuals arrested and charged, and the property, drugs and money seized,” said Asunmaa.
Greater Sudbury Police Chief Frank Elsner, left, and Staff Sgt. Allan Asunmaa show off drugs and money seized as part of Project Nickel, which resulted in 83 people facing hundreds of charges. Photo by Marg Seregelyi.
Project Nickel was part of the Provincial Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (PAVIS). It was initiated in November 2012 and focused on the distribution of illegal drugs in the area, and on the criminals responsible for bringing those drugs into the area, said Elsner.
Police aren't identifying any specific criminal organization involved in the investigation, though. With police services in Toronto and Ottawa ramping up their own enforcement efforts on organized crime, it's driving those gangs to areas where it is easier for them to do business, Elsner said. As such, Sudbury is becoming the distribution centre for much of Northern Ontario.
“Our intelligence tells us that Sudbury seems to be the place where the drugs come in and are then distributed to other communities, especially to fly-in reserves and northern communities,” Elsner said.
“Over the past few years, we have seen an influx of gang activity in our community from the GTA and Ottawa areas. What we want to do is ensure that the welcome mat is not out for these people.”
There are a number of reasons why these gangs are choosing Sudbury as a distribution centre, Elsner said. First, Sudbury doesn't have the same enforcement capabilities as Toronto or Ottawa, so criminals think the city is an easier place to conduct business.
Second, the amount of money they can make in Sudbury is five to 10 times more than in the Toronto area and the profit margin increases the further north the illegal goods are sold.
And, it's the drug trade that drives the vast majority of all other crimes, he said. Break and enters, robberies and those types of crimes, for the most part, are a result of someone trying to feed their drug habit.
With a much smaller pool or resources, it's essential for Greater Sudbury Police Service to forge partnerships in its fight against organized crime, Elsner said.
Ontario Provincial Police Superintendent Ken Leppert agrees.
“Organized crime is multi-jurisdictional, and it really knows no boundaries with today's technology and the expansive network of crime,” he said.
“It is essential for us to work together in an integrated fashion to respond to these organized gangs and drug-distribution networks, and Project Nickel is a good example of that.”
Project Nickel was primarily an undercover operation, but also involved a number of search warrants being executed over the past few days, Elsner said. There were five police officers directly involved in the investigation, but upwards of 20-30 officers were involved at any given time.
“We just don't have the resources for that by ourselves, and that's why it's important for us to work co-operatively with our partners,” Elsner said. “There hasn't been a project in this community of this magnitude in quite some time, so it was important to disrupt the pipeline and ensure the folks who think this was a place to set up shop know differently.”
Elsner said he was surprised by the number of Oxycontin pills seized through Project Nickel. He said Oxycontin is starting to dry up in the community, but something will always replace the drug of choice. Now, drug users are turning to crack cocaine, he said.
“No matter what we take off the streets, someone will fill that void with something else.”
