The Collingwood/Town of The Blue Mountains (TBM) OPP’s Street Crime Unit has had some record-breaking months when it comes to drug seizures in the area from April to June.
“Overall, during this time period, we have seized 1.71 kilograms of cocaine; six ounces of purple fentanyl; over 100 fentanyl pills; $50,000 in currency and one vehicle,” said Collingwood/TBM OPP detachment commander, Insp. Mary Shannon.
The local OPP also seized two handguns and ammunition as well as amounts of methadone, psilocybin, methamphetamine, oxycodone, codeine, and crack cocaine.
Insp. Shannon recently presented an overview of the local detachment’s activity from April until the end of June to both the TBM Police Services Board and later to the Collingwood Police Services Board.
According to Insp. Shannon's report at the Collingwood Police Services Board meeting on Aug. 17, the Collingwood Street Crime Unit investigated 52 occurrences, four of which were "significant and complex" investigations between April and June.
During this three month period, the local detachment seized the largest amount of cocaine it has ever recovered with a single search warrant.
“As a result of one search warrant, we seized 1.4 kilograms of cocaine,” she said.
The Street Crime Unit conducts search warrants related to drug trafficking on a regular basis, pandemic or not. However, Insp. Shannon noted that the amount of drugs seized over this time is higher than usual.
"On average, there was one warrant per week being executed on a drug target," said Insp. Shannon. "It would be naive to think there isn't a large volume of drugs on any given day in our community."
The Street Crime Unit also recovered $100,000 worth of stolen property.
“This was primarily from construction sites and mailbox theft that had been occurring in the TBM and Collingwood area,” said Insp. Shannon. “Everyone was ordering online because of COVID and these individuals were hitting mailboxes en masse. There was a lot of property that was going missing.”
The Collingwood/TBM Street Crimes Unit assisted Peel Regional Police Service with a public safety warrant execution in Collingwood, which was a result of an investigation that began in the Peel region.
“This individual also had a residence in Collingwood and as a result of that warrant, 18 handguns, 12 long guns, police armour vests and firearm accessories were obtained from that residence,” she explained.
This investigation resulted in charges to Rafael Lopes, 51, of Collingwood, who was charged with possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes, carrying a concealed weapon, careless storage of a firearm, possession of opioid, and failure to comply with undertaking.
- With files from Erika Engel
