THUNDER BAY — It's no secret that a major component of drug trafficking in Thunder Bay involves people from the Greater Toronto Area and gangs based in the GTA.
On a regular basis, Thunder Bay Police announce the arrests of individuals from southern Ontario on trafficking charges.
New data released by TBPS this week shows how entrenched the presence of outsiders in the local drug trade has become.
In 2021, the Intelligence Unit – which deals with guns, gangs and drugs – arrested 201 people and made what was characterized as "unprecedented" firearm and fentanyl seizures.
These seizures have increased steadily over the last three years.
More than half the accused individuals last year were from outside the Thunder Bay district.
"As a general trend, often with the illicit drug trade we are seeing an increase in out-of-town drug dealers here in the city," says Detective Inspector Jeremy Pearson, commander of investigative services for TBPS.
The TBPS annual report notes the connection to a high rate of drug addiction in the city.
"The result of widespread dependency is an active drug-trafficking market that attracts out-of-district drug traffickers," it states.
Another worrisome trend observed by police is the number of youths coming to Thunder Bay from southern Ontario to work in the drug trade.
In an interview with TBnewswatch, Pearson called it "distressing."
He attributed the recruiting of young people by gangs to a variety of social factors.
"We start talking about whether they are being specifically targeted because they are perhaps able to escape serious penalty. Are they being groomed by higher-level traffickers? Are they being exploited for their naivete, or is this life of the illicit drug trade becoming normalized and actually being sought by young people? I think the answer lies somewhere in a combination of all those things," Pearson said.
The TBPS annual report also discloses that last year police investigated 37 confirmed takeovers of local homes by drug traffickers, and seized over $3 million worth of drugs including cocaine, crystal meth and fentanyl.
Pearson said home takeovers are a comparatively recent phenomenon in Thunder Bay, but it's concerning because the problem has been growing in the last couple of years.
"If I were to paint the broad strokes, often it is people who are vulnerable, whether it's through poverty, substance misuse, or just a lack of supports. Vulnerable people are targeted and control of their residence is taken over by those who are selling drugs."
Keeping up with drug traffickers and gang-related crime is taking a toll on police.
Pearson said the work done by various sections of the Intelligence Unit is "simply phenomenal," adding that "the sheer volume of search warrants they execute, the investigations they partake in, and the resulting seizures is staggering."
For years, Thunder Bay Police have advocated for more support from the province for dealing with gang-connected activity.
Acting Police Chief Dan Taddeo said in July that TBPS continues to seek "an equitable share" of government funding for disrupting drug trafficking and the violence it has brought into the community.
Turf wars between rival groups of traffickers have been blamed on a growing rate of violence including shootings in Thunder Bay over the last few years.
Detective-Inspector John Fennell has said "unfortunately the way they do business down south with weapons and guns is now here."
This week, TBPS arrested a 16-year-old youth and a 40-year-old man for the fatal shooting of a Toronto man in an Oct. 7 incident on Brodie Street South.
Police have called it a targeted homicide, and say it was related to drug trafficking.
