Police in York Region say they arrested 23 people from across southern Ontario while seizing more than $7 million in fentanyl after a seven-month investigation dubbed Project Chatter.
Police also seized 32 guns as well as a number of other items, with a majority of those weapons coming from the U.S.
“Thirty-two illegal firearms that were taken off the streets,” he said. “And of the 24 that we’ve received tracing information back so far, 23 come back as originating in the United States of America, with one from here in Canada.”
The investigation began in October 2024, when officers began investigating the activities surrounding a 31-year-old man from Richmond Hill who was allegedly a “key player” in drug trafficking throughout the GTA, according to Det. Sgt. Sean Whittaker.
“As the investigation progressed, officers uncovered a sophisticated criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of both raw and street-ready fentanyl, as well as firearms, across the region,” Whittaker told reporters Wednesday.
“Recognizing the threat that this posed, an internal task force dubbed Project Chatter was established to aggressively target and dismantle this network.
“Project Chatter uncovered a network that was highly organized and well-equipped.”
Whittaker said that the investigation revealed “key suppliers, distribution hubs, and locations believed to be cooking or cutting fentanyl for street-level sale.”
He noted that most of the operations were in Richmond Hill, but there were other locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area as well.
This investigation led to 200 officers raiding 15 homes on May 4 where they seized 32 illegal firearms and a large quantity of drugs, including over 700,000 doses of fentanyl with a street value of over $7 million, and seized more than $130,000 in Canadian currency and $18,000 in American currency.
Since then, police say they have laid more than more than 300 drug, weapon and organized crime charges against 23 people from across the GTA, Brantford and Niagara Falls.
