THUNDER BAY — A city police bust has netted a major quantity of drugs, with an estimated street value of $460,000.
Six people were arrested when the Thunder Bay Police Service's Emergency Task Unit brought a search warrant to a home on Leith Street on Wednesday afternoon. Two of the suspects were from Toronto, another two were from Quebec, and the remaining pair were from Thunder Bay.
Officers seized more than $460,000 worth of drugs — which are believed to be crack cocaine, cocaine and fentanyl — along with more than $50,000 in cash and a loaded handgun.
All six suspects — a 17-year-old from Toronto, 51-year-old Cecil Joseph William Bannon from Thunder Bay, 31-year-old Justin Alexander Boyce of Chateauguay, Que., 27-year-old Kyler Johnson of Toronto, 50-year-old Charlene Rose Lonergan of Thunder Bay, and 28-year-old Bako Mitchell-Erzuah of Montreal — each face multiple counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking as well as firearms-related charges. They have all been remanded into custody.
While speaking to the media during a Thursday afternoon press conference, Det.-Insp. Jeremy Pearson said that over the last three years, there has been an increase in the amount of guns seized during police investigations.
"The sad fact is that the amount of drugs that we're seeing is making seizures of this magnitude somewhat less rare than they once would," Pearson said. "These amounts are no longer staggering as they once were.
"However, this is still a significant seizure. and a tremendous amount of potential harm taken off the streets."
Police said there isn't any evidence that the bust is related to a shooting incident on Amelia Street that happened on Tuesday.
