Police seize $8M in illicit cannabis after busting alleged network from Ontario to Nova Scotia

An eight-month, multi-jurisdictional investigation uncovered a network that police allege was illegally producing cannabis in Ontario and then shipping it to Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Ontario Provincial Police say five people between the ages of 32 and 59 — four from the GTA and one from Brantford, Ont. — face 18 offences in connection with the case, mostly under the Cannabis Act. It was not clear as of publication time whether anyone outside of Ontario is facing charges in the case.

As part of the investigation, officers seized 753 pounds of dried illicit cannabis, 28,280 illicit cannabis plants and a large quantity of illicit cannabis products, like edibles and vapes, as well as some contraband tobacco, 30 grams of suspected cocaine and $4,600. Police valued the items seized at over $8 million.

The investigation began last October with the OPP working alongside the Safer Communities Section — Department of Justice and Public Safety New Brunswick. Police say the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) also helped in the investigation, providing financial intelligence disclosures, through its public-private partnership Project Legion led by Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Between October 2024 and July of this year, five search warrants were executed across Ontario, in Etobicoke and Scarborough in the GTA, Brantford and nearby Ohsweken and an illicit cannabis grow operation in Binbrook (near Hamilton).

All five suspects were released from custody pending court appearances in Toronto.

Police did not provide information as to where the illicit product was being sold in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, nor did they expand on the kinds of financial records used to identify the network. However, a government website notes that, in general, Project Legion looks at “suspicious transaction reports,” which include anything from transaction details making reference to cannabis-related terminology to someone making excessive or atypical utility payments, to unexpectedly large purchases at candy stores or kitchenware stores.

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