12 arrested in joint drug trafficking investigation by RCMP, CBSA and Regional Police
Posted Apr 6, 2017 05:47:00 PM.
Last Updated Apr 7, 2017 02:07:21 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Kitchener Detachment along with the Canadian Border Services Agency, and Waterloo Regional Police Service have arrested 12 people in connection to an ongoing drug trafficking investigation called Project OWING.
As a result, a total of 38.5 kilograms of cocaine was seized, 34.5 kilos of it during a traffic stop at a Cambridge Walmart on Thursday. The rest was found during 14 search warrants across the province, 12 of those warrants were carried out in our region.
Bil Chester recorded this video of an RCMP take down in Cambridge on Thursday.
RCMP take-down at Walmart plaza in @cambridgetimes pic.twitter.com/w9sYD1BgYu
— Bil Chester (@BilChester) April 7, 2017
RCMP say the uncut cocaine is worth roughly $1.7M and was brought into Canada from the U.S. but after drug dealers mix it in with other substances, it could be worth around $4M or $5M.
Police say the drug trafficking operation was very well organized. The shipments of cocaine were transported via a commercial motor vehicle and imported in loads of cargo.
RCMP Superintendent Jamie Jagoe says nine of the people arrested are from Waterloo Region. Their ages range from 31-62 years old. The three others are from the Toronto and Windsor areas.
“The importation of illicit drugs poses a significant threat to the health and safety of communities across the country and the RCMP along with our partners are steadfast in our determination to disrupt and dismantle these groups. The result of this investigation is another example of policing partners sharing resources and expertise to keep illegal drugs out of our communities.”
Those charged are:
-59-year-old Mile Vignjevic of Cambridge
-34-year-old Dimitrios Papadakis of Kitchener
-46-year-old Thomas Kapouranis of Kitchener
-53-year-old Jadranko Neskovic of Kitchener
-34-year-old Marko Tufedgzic of Kitchener
-31-year-old Mihajlo Vignjevic of Kitchener
-36-year-old Julie Panyadeth of Kitchener
-31-year-old David Thiessen of Kitchener
-42-year-old Nghia Nguyen of Kitchener
-62-year-old Andreas Maronitis of Thornhill
-42-year-old Philip Boutrous of Leamington
-30-year-old Thanh Dinh Nguyen of Toronto
