TIMMINS -- Timmins Police drug investigators kicked down the doors of two Mountjoy Street homes during the night hours of March 10.
“It’s the end result of true teamwork in terms of information being garnered from the Crime Stopper line, other network of informants, proper surveillance and the decision to execute the warrant when the applicable suspects made their presence known in the Timmins area," said Marc Depatie, communications coordinator for the Timmins Police Service.
The investigation resulted in police rounding up purple and blue Fentanyl, cocaine, and cash. Officers said the total street value of the drugs and cash seized is around $78,000.
Six people have been arrested and charged with various drug offences. Half of them are from southern Ontario.
“These young Torontonians ... come to Timmins, they reach out and network with local suspects and begin to traffic in narcotics in the Timmins area, leaving with ill-gotten gains," said Depatie. "Thankfully we were able to complete the arrests prior to that occurring."
The latest bust comes the day after eight New Democrat MPPs signed a letter asking Premier Doug Ford to do more to help the north. They are calling on the province to invest in harm-reduction strategies immediately, including providing more safe beds and 24-hour treatment services.
“This is a cry for help from all of us in northern Ontario to say you know, we’re glad that the province recognizes there’s a problem, but we need to put our dollars where our mouth is in order to make sure that our doctors; our mental health people; our addictions people; our police; our community social services have the wherewithal to be able to respond to this in a way that’s going to help us save lives," said Gilles Bisson, New Democrat MPP for Timmins.
Twenty-nine people died in Timmins from opioid-related overdoses last year. So far this year, police said there have been five deaths in January, two in February and one so far in March.
