Vancouver Police have announced the findings of an operation that has been ongoing since November 2021.
"Project Torque" targeted a drug-trafficking ring that VPD believed was manufacturing and distributing fentanyl pills disguised as Percocet to the Downtown Eastside and sending it out of province in exchange for cash.
After a year-long investigation, they have seized approximately $3 million in drugs, guns, and cash.
“This seizure has disrupted business for a criminal organization and made life a bit safer for people struggling with illicit substance use,” says the commanding officer of VPD’s Organized Crime Section, Inspector Phil Heard, in a press release.
Percocet is an opioid often prescribed to people living with moderate to severe pain but it is also trafficked at street level. When laced with fentanyl the pills often become fatal, creating a significant public safety risk.
“We are committed to rooting out organized and predatory criminals who manufacture and produce the harmful street drugs that kill vulnerable people in our communities,” says Heard.
In October, investigators executed multiple search warrants which led to the seizure of 72 kilograms of the fake, fentanyl-laced pills, along with 16.5 kilograms of cocaine, 88 kilograms of cutting agents, methamphetamine, MDMA, and benzodiazepine.
The busts resulted in three arrests and investigators also found three handguns, ammunition, body armour, and $123,000 in cash.
The VPD says that they anticipate multiple charges will be laid at the conclusion of the investigation.
