London police seize $8M in illegal drugs since July, including record fentanyl seizure

It's a haul of drugs and guns that more than filled two folding tables at police headquarters.

In a news conference held Wednesday, London Police put on display the spoils of what Chief Thai Truong described as six months' of focused investigations aimed at curbing the city's drug trade and the gun violence it generates. 

The haul included 19 firearms, mostly handguns, along with clear plastic bags stuffed with cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and Oxycodone pills. The seizures are the result of 32 separate investigations leading to charges against 70 people. Police say the total street value of the drugs seized is $8.4 million.

More than 16.9 kilograms of fentanyl were seized, including 12. kg seized on Dec. 8, which is  a new single-seizure record for London Police Service. 

"Our enforcement efforts have delivered significant results," said Truong. "We have seized large quantities of dangerous drugs."

Truong said fentanyl and carfentanil, which are both often tied to fatal drug overdoses, continue to take a heavy toll on London's streets. 

"In our community alone in the last five years, you're looking at about 600 opioid-related deaths," said Truong. "Over 80 per cent of those are directly related to fentanyl and carfentanil. These are dangerous, dangerous drugs. It is highly addictive and it contributes directly to the opioid crisis and deaths across our country." 

Organized crime linked to opioid distribution

Truong said the drugs are often synthesized in Canada using chemicals smuggled into the country. He said in some cases, the drug can also manufactured outside of the country and brought to Canada ready to sell. 

He said manufacturing and distributing the deadly opioids is typically the work of organized crime. 

"That's why it's important that we prioritize our enforcement efforts when we're looking at community safety," said Truong. "Investments have to be made to ensure that these drugs do not hit our streets." 

Det.-Sgt. Josh Silcox, of London Police Service guns and gangs unit, said guns and the drug trade are often intertwined.

"Drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession pose a serious safety risk to everyone," he said. 

The police show-and-tell comes in the same week as a shooting that resulted in shots being fired near the entrance of the emergency department at Victoria Hospital. 

At around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, a truck pulled into the Victoria Hospital ER bay, smashing into a cement pillar. A second vehicle arrived and shots rang out. A man was admitted to hospital with bullet wounds that were not life-threatening. Police are looking for a suspect vehicle. 

Minutes before the incident at the hospital, police say the victim and suspect were involved in an altercation in which shots were fired at White Oaks and Southdale Roads.

Police have not linked Saturday's shootings to the drug trade. 

Truong said despite this week's events, shootings in London have decreased in 2024 compared to last year. With two weeks to go in 2024, there have been 14 shootings. Last year there were 27. 

"That is a result of not one thing but a number of things that we're doing with our community and for our community," said Truong. "That is a drastic reduction, that is not an anomaly that is a result of focused enforcement."