Winnipeg police seize nearly $2M worth of meth, fentanyl in busts they say involve out-of-province networks

Officers seized roughly $160,000 cash and methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine they say is worth $2 million during busts over the past six months, in part due to tips from out-of-province police agencies.

Five people in their early to mid-20s were arrested — two from Manitoba, two from Alberta and one from B.C. — and charged with drug trafficking and proceeds of crime-related offences.

"It's significant not only to get the drugs off the street but to make sure these individuals were arrested, disrupted and essentially forced out of the city," said Insp. Elton Hall of the Winnipeg police guns and gangs unit during a news conference Tuesday.

Police received tips from investigators outside of Manitoba late last year and learned of an organized crime network planning to move into the Winnipeg drug market, Hall said.

On Nov. 29, Winnipeg police observed a delivery from a commercial truck at Deacon's Corner east of Winnipeg. A vehicle involved was stopped by police and a man was arrested.

Police found 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, two kilograms of fentanyl and one kilogram of cocaine, Hall said.

Police later seized four kilograms of methamphetamine and 77 grams of fentanyl during a search on Sterling Lyon Parkway east of McCreary Road, Hall said.

Brandon police later found the commercial vehicle used in the Deacon's Corner delivery, Hall said. The driver was arrested and half a kilogram of fentanyl and $40,000 were seized.

On Feb. 24, three properties in Winnipeg were searched: one on Corydon Avenue, between Arbuthnot Street and Hugo Street N.; a second on University Crescent; and a third on Saulteaux Crescent between Murray Park Road and Moray Street.

Officers seized nine kilograms of methamphetamine, eight ounces of fentanyl and about $100,000 in cash, Hall said. 

Two men from Edmonton, Alta., and one from Surrey, B.C., were arrested, Hall said.

Police seized a total of 28 kilograms of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1.4 million and almost three kilograms of fentanyl worth about $560,000 in the busts, Hall said. The single kilogram of cocaine seized has an estimated street value of $80,000. 

Hall said police believe it's all part of an organized crime network that authorities have seen pushing into various cities in B.C. and Alberta.

Two separate groups appeared in Winnipeg last fall, Hall said: one from the west and one from the Toronto area.

Their presence was marked by a distinct form of gun violence — a series of shootings from vehicles — that stood out to investigators.

"This isn't usual behaviour for Winnipeg," Hall said. "When there is gun violence, there is a certain way things occur here, and this was just a little bit different. It was pretty concerning."

Hall linked global supply chain issues in the methamphetamine market early in the pandemic to a rise in fentanyl use in Winnipeg. Though methamphetamine use is back on the rise, Hall suggested fentanyl represents a unique threat that's surfaced across Canada in the form of record overdose deaths.

"Looking at the bigger picture here, you have [a] health crisis in Winnipeg right now, in Manitoba and across Canada, so you have a large amount of drugs taken off the street, which again alleviates issues at some of our emergency rooms," he said.

"From a policing perspective … you take these drugs off the street, you now eliminate some gang activity and violence on the streets."