‘Major’ cocaine trafficking network dismantled

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This article was published 26/05/2021 (1771 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police busted a major drug trafficking ring in Brandon earlier this month, seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine and dismantling a major network.

Between February and May, the Brandon Police Service, Winnipeg Police Service, RCMP and Manitoba Prosecution Services conducted the joint investigation, dubbed Project Brazen.

The entire investigation spanned 16 months, BPS inspector of operations Mike Pelechaty said. The alleged network was first identified by police in early 2020.

The investigation was into a “sophisticated and prolific” group of people involved in importing and selling cocaine and other drugs in the city and surrounding area, said Staff Sgt. Brian Partridge said during a Tuesday morning press conference hosted on Microsoft Teams.

On May 3, Brandon police executed search warrants at two residences, where three kilograms of cocaine — worth an estimated $300,000 — and $70,000 in cash was seized.

Then, on May 18, police executed five more search warrants in the city. Police seized one kilogram of cocaine, worth approximately $50,000, and items believed to be the proceeds of crime.

The alleged drug ring was one of the highest-level cocaine trafficking networks in the city, Partridge said, and disrupting it will have a major impact on the local cocaine supply.

“By dismantling that, we have put a serious dent in the availability of cocaine in the city,” he said.

“I am confident this is the major network operating in our city that has been destroyed, I hope.”

While police initially suspected the network was trafficking in other drugs such as methamphetamine and MDMA, Partridge said police are “not confident” other drugs were being trafficked at the same level.

Eleven people were charged in the investigation and face charges, including trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, possession of the proceeds of crime and conspiracy to possess the proceeds of crime.

In what police dubbed an “anomaly,” many of those arrested were not permanent residents of Canada. Partridge said one person is an American citizen on an expired study visa, three people are citizens of Nigeria also on study visas and one person was on a visitor visa from Jamaica.

That created “hurdles” for police in the investigation as the foreign citizens didn’t have criminal records in Canada or a history in the country, Partridge said.

“Identifying them and ensuring that we have the right people proved to be a bit of a difficult task at the start of this investigation … but it’s certainly nothing we couldn’t overcome,” he said.

Manitoba Justice recognized Project Brazen as meeting criteria set out in the May 2019 policing and public safety strategy and supported it with resources, Pelechaty said. The strategy puts specific emphasis on police services collaborating on intelligence and operations.

An arrest warrant for trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of cocaine and other charges has also been issued for 26-year-old Rafael Toichoa-Fulford, who Partridge said was the primary suspect of the investigation.

The accused is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, according to police. He left the county in early April and has not returned since.

“His current whereabouts are unknown,” Partridge said.

All 11 people arrested so far have had their first court appearances.

The search warrants in Project Brazen are not connected to a joint RCMP investigation in April, which also sought to disrupt drug trafficking operations in Westman. During the April investigation, dubbed Project Debris, police seized $17,000 cash, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and motorcycles.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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