What began as a traffic stop for a motorist on a cellphone along Highway 401 ended with officers seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cannabis and cash, and two people charged, provincial police said Tuesday.
It happened around 2:30 p.m. Friday along Highway 401 near Dorchester Road in Thames Centre.
Details are limited, but police say they stopped the vehicle after an officer observed the driver using a cellphone.
Upon further investigation, police say around $802,000 in dried and packaged cannabis and $130,000 in Canadian currency was were located “within the interior” of the vehicle.
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Two people were in the vehicle at the time, and both were taken into custody and transported to the OPP’s London detachment.
A 42-year-old Toronto man and a 35-year-old Beeton, Ont., man are both charged with possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000 under the Criminal Code and possession for the purpose of distributing under the Cannabis Act.
The Toronto man faces an additional Highway Traffic Act charge of driving while using a hand-held communication device, police said.
The pair have since been released and will appear in court on Nov. 27.