Kitchener-Waterloo

Waterloo, Guelph men charged in drug bust

An investigation by Waterloo Regional Police took them to a Guelph home this week where officers executed a search warrant and seized heroin and meth with a street value of approximately $78,000.

Police seize $78,000 worth of heroin, meth that may contain fentanyl

Waterloo Regional Police officers conducting a drug investigation executed a search warrant at a Guelph residence this week and seized what is believed to be heroin and meth with a street value of $78,000. (Waterloo Regional Police Service)

Two men are facing numerous drug charges after Waterloo Regional Police officers raided a Guelph home this week.

On Sept. 21, two men were arrested on Lester Street in Waterloo as part of an investigation started in the spring by the WRPS guns and gangs unit.

That arrest led to a search warrant being executed at a residence in Guelph.

Police said that search resulted in the significant seizure of drugs, including what is believed to be heroin and meth with a street value of $78,000. As well, $8,500 in cash was seized.

Testing of the drugs seized will take several weeks, but Insp. Dave Bishop said he will not be surprised if the results show fentanyl is also part of the drug mix.

"In the last number of months, most of the heroin that we're seeing here within the region has had some degree of fentanyl content within it. I can't say for sure that this one will, it's quite likely based on past history and what we've been seeing that it will, but we do not get proper testing back for probably several weeks until after the seizures," he said.

Overdoses, deaths on rise in region

Bishop said the size of the seizure indicates the person is probably a mid-level dealer.

"This person has a fairly large quantity and is probably supplying a number of other street level traffickers," he said, adding tips from the public help them in the investigations.

These types of drugs are sold in small quantities, so a seizure in the 190 to 200 gram range is significant, he said.

"The other significance is, across Canada, we've been seeing some fairly significant increases in the number of overdoses and the deaths that are coming as a result of that and this would really be the drug that is probably responsible for that. It's heroin that's generating a lot of our overdoses, and particularly, as we've been seeing recently, it's very often either mixed with fentanyl or sometimes even replaced with fentanyl," Bishop said.

"When we do make a seizure of this nature, it's got significant community safety impacts for us and in fact, it's probably one of the drugs we try to target more than any other when we're doing our investigation just because of the significance of the community risk that comes as a result of that stuff being out there."

A 43-year-old Guelph man and a 35-year-old Waterloo man face several drug-related charges including possession for the purpose of trafficking.