$400k of illegal drugs seized in major northern Ontario drug bust

Police have disrupted what they are calling a "large scale drug trafficking operation" affecting First Nations communities in northern Ontario.

Four police services — Greater Sudbury Police Services, Timmins Police Service, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police — collaborated on the bust, in which drugs valued more than $400,000 were seized and four people, including who police are calling the operation's "ringleaders," were charged.

The operation came as a result of concerns from the Mushkegowuk Council, who in November called the influx of drugs into Mushkegowuk First Nations as a "pandemic."

Police seized methamphetamine, fentanyl patches, heroin, cocaine, hydromorphone and Percocet. They also seized over $80,000 worth of currency.

Police have charged a total of 26 people since March.

The charges range from possession of a controlled substance to possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime.