$90 million drug seizure largest ever in Toronto; Mississauga resident among seven charged

What’s being called the largest ever cocaine and crystal meth bust by cops in Toronto has led to the recovery of some $90 million in drugs and the arrests of seven people, including a Mississauga resident.

Speaking at a news conference Friday morning with the seized 551 kilos of powder cocaine and 441 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine laid out in front of him, Toronto Police Supt. Steve Watts told reporters it’s the “single-largest (such) seizure” in the history of the police force.

Toronto Police Deputy Chief Rob Johnson, also on hand at police headquarters to address the media, described the amount of drugs as “staggering.”

Watts, who heads up Organized Crime Enforcement, said the drugs were destined for the streets of Toronto and elsewhere in the GTA and beyond, and “would’ve inflicted significant damage on our communities.”

The three-and-a-half month investigation, dubbed Project Finito, delved into the “importation and distribution of large volumes of illicit drugs in the Greater Toronto Area” and was carried out with support from Peel Regional Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.

It culminated in the execution of a number of search warrants in October and subsequent arrests of seven people, according to police.

In addition to the 992 kilograms of drugs recovered, investigators also seized $95,100 in Canadian cash, one gun and a vehicle, police said.

Toronto Police Supt. Steve Watts, of Organized Crime Enforcement, speaks to reporters at a Friday morning news conference. 

Police allege that those charged form “part of a sophisticated network involved in the distribution of large volumes of cocaine and crystal methamphetamine in the GTA.”

Facing charges are:

• Tenzin Palden, 25, of Mississauga
• Camron Longmore, 20, of Ajax
• Bryan Sherritt, 37, of Etobicoke
• Abubakar Mohamed, 30, of Etobicoke
• Bashir Hasan Abdi, 34, of Toronto
• Zubayul Hoque, 25, of Ajax
• Lucho Loder, 43, of Toronto