Winnipeg, Ontario police raids target 'highly sophisticated, interprovincial' crime network

The Winnipeg Police Service raided a number of residences Wednesday morning as part of an investigation into "a highly sophisticated, interprovincial organized crime network," police say, following reports of heavy police presence in some neighbourhoods.

Homes in Winnipeg, rural Manitoba and parts of Ontario were searched with help from the Ontario Provincial Police, police spokesperson Const. Rob Carver said.

A media release sent out later Wednesday afternoon explains that the searches were part of Project Highland. Another partner is the province's finance and taxation department, according to the release.

"A very, very large number of heavily armed units were out this morning," Carver said. "That's indicative of expectations of potential violence — I'm not aware that there was any."

"Key elements of this operation are centred in Winnipeg" and the Winnipeg Police Service took the lead in the investigation, he said.

Carver didn't say much about the investigation because it is ongoing and some officers may still be on the streets, he said.

He was not given much information to share to begin with, he said.

"These things are held incredibly tightly," Carver said. "I do not know [information], that's how tightly they're held."

This is done to maintain the investigation's integrity and general security, he said.

Details about Project Highland will be presented at a news conference on Dec. 23, the media release said.

Wednesday's co-ordinated raids happened just over a week after Manitoba RCMP announced they made the largest meth bust in the province's history, which also involved organized crime in different provinces.