OPP East Region Community Street Crime Units and Belleville Police stopped a large crystal meth and cocaine trafficking operation in Eastern Ontario.
OPP, along with members of the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, OPP Emergency Response Team and Belleville Police Service launched an investigation dubbed “Project Esther” early this year. Initial arrests related to the investigation came in late May of this year when police arrested two people and seized methamphetamine and cocaine in a traffic stop on the 401 in Quinte West.
Police executed search warrants in Belleville and Toronto on Thursday. Two more people were arrested and police seized nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine, an undetermined amount of cocaine, two loaded handguns and over $130,000 in Canadian money.
Twenty-nine-year-old Alexander Dumouchel of Quinte West is charged with:
- Dangerous operation
- Flight from Peace Officer
- Resist a Peace Officer
- Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime
- Possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking – two counts
Twenty-three-year-old Cody Butler, also of Quinte West is charged with:
- Possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a Prohibition Order – three counts
- Careless storage of a firearm
- Unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm
- Possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm
- Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm/ammunition
- Conspiracy to commit and indictable offence
- Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime
- Traffick in Schedule 1 substance
- Possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking – three counts
Thirty-one-year-old Derrick Veley of Loyalist Township is charged with:
- Possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a Prohibition Order – four counts
- Resist a Peace Officer
- Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime
- Failure to comply with an undertaking
- Failure to comply with a Probation Order – two counts
- Possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking – Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – two counts
Twenty-four-year-old Donte Frivault of Scarborough has been charged with:
- Possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a Prohibition Order
- Careless storage of a firearm
- Unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm )
- Possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm
- Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm/ammunition
- Possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime
- Possession of a Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking – three counts
The accused are in police custody with Ontario Court of Justice dates scheduled.
