Project Apache seizes guns, $700,000 in drugs
Posted Apr 3, 2013 12:25:43 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, Ont. – Ottawa Police have pulled off a massive drug bust after a six-month-long police operation.
Six men have been arrested and $700,000 worth of drugs have been seized, as well as two handguns.
Project Apache was run with the help of police from Toronto and Gatineau, targetting the activity of gang members in the capital.
Police laid out bags containing seven kilograms of powdered cocaine at a news conference at police headquarters, Tuesday afternoon. Investigators also seized marijuana, oxycodone pills, two handguns and more than $34,000 cash.
Police say the bust is related to the Crip street gang, and they expect that more arrests will be made. They say the demand for cocaine in Ottawa is on the rise.
“I think that’s something that has progressed over the years,” said Sgt. Ken Bryden with the Ottawa Police Guns and Gangs Unit. “It’s not something that happened as a result of (Project) Apache. But it’s certainly a trend that I’ve been seeing over the last few years.”
The two guns seized will undergo ballistics testing, to see if they were used in recent murders in Toronto.
The project was dubbed Project Apache after one of the men arrested – 29-year-old Adil Omer.
Five men from Ottawa and one from Gatineau — all in their 20s — have been arrested and now face dozens of charges.
