Massive $139M drug bust exposes South Asian cross-border trucking network
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/massive-139m-drug-bust-exposes-south-asian-cross-border-trucking-network/75283
Ontario authorities have seized nearly 1.7 tonnes of illegal drugs with an estimated street value exceeding $139 million in one of Ontario’s largest single-investigation drug busts by weight.
Project Bay, a multi-jurisdictional cross-border investigation, targeted an mainly South Asian organized criminal network that allegedly used brokers within the commercial trucking industry to import and traffic drugs across the Canada-U.S. border concealed in legitimate cargo shipments.
Many in the gang have already been released on bail.
Investigators recovered 973 kg of suspected cocaine, 660 kg of suspected methamphetamine, 49 kg of suspected opium, 230 oxycodone tablets, 17 firearms (including a Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle), ammunition, prohibited weapons and devices, cash, high-end jewellery, money counting machines, dozens of cell phones and laptops, and one offence-related vehicle.
The probe began in January 2025 when the Windsor Police Service launched a drug trafficking investigation. The Canada Border Services Agency joined the following month.
Ontario Provincial Police provided significant support through border enforcement task forces, with assistance from Toronto Police Service, Peel Regional Police, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
More than 20 search warrants were executed across Windsor, the GTA and surrounding areas between late June and mid-July 2026.
The recovery of a military-grade Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle alongside the drugs is particularly alarming. Canada’s military has faced repeated warnings about being underequipped, with chronic shortages in personnel, modern weapons systems and basic readiness.
Yet heavily armed criminal networks operating inside the country now possess anti-armour capability that outclasses some standard issue equipment available to Canadian Forces members.
While overall this bust is a clear success for law enforcement, such operations underscore the resources required to maintain border integrity and public safety in Ontario.
Twenty-one individuals now face 104 charges under the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Nineteen have been arrested, with warrants outstanding for two others. The OPP’s Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit is pursuing proceeds of crime.
The Canada Border Services Agency described the operation as “one of the largest drug busts by weight in Ontario,” noting the strong collaboration between agencies.
Investigators believe the cocaine originated primarily from international networks, while much of the methamphetamine came from both domestic labs and foreign suppliers. The probe remains active.
The scale of the bust highlights ongoing weaknesses in commercial cross-border supply chains and the challenges of policing sophisticated organized crime networks.