Twenty people are facing more than 700 Criminal Code charges after a drug trafficking investigation in Cornwall and the surrounding area resulted in the seizure of 35 firearms and $2 million in illicit drug.
The Cornwall Police Service (CPS) and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)-led Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU) launched Project FESTER in September 2024 to investigate alleged drug and firearms trafficking within the City of Cornwall.
As the investigation progressed, the scope expanded to include several jurisdictions, and a cross-border element was subsequently identified. OPP members from the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service (AMPS), Ottawa Police Service (OPS) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) were then engaged.
Two criminal networks were identified – one allegedly trafficking illicit substances in Cornwall, and a second allegedly trafficking firearms in Ottawa and Akwesasne. The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations also supported the cross-border component of this investigation.
The following items were seized:
33 handgunsTwo assault-style riflesProhibited devices, including firearms partsAmmunitionThree 3-D printers8.3 kg suspected cocaine5.8 kg suspected fentanyl150 g suspected MDMA4 g suspected heroin40 oxycodone tablets18 g alprazolam9 g hydromorphone$70,000 in Canadian currencyA personal watercraft as offence-related propertyOne stolen vehicle recovered
A total of 20 individuals have been charged with more than 700 offences. The following 15 individuals have been arrested:
Lucius Nadler, 18, OttawaRichard Emmerson, 63, OttawaRichard Eagle, 45, CornwallWalid Farhat, 31, OttawaRyan Glaude, 40, CornwallDonald Smeall, 52, Apple HillJoey Rozon, 43, OttawaBruce Tarbell, 64, AkwesasneBlake Atwell, 49, CornwallJamal Davy-Gordon, 34, CornwallRyan Balston, 34, CornwallTyler Pyper, 28, CornwallMalcolm Pyper, 29, CornwallTrevin Lazore, 22, Hogansburg, NYAmanda Tryon, 34, Akwesasne
Meanwhile, arrest warrants have been issued for the remaining five individuals.
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