Four Windsor-Essex men among 20 arrested following $65-million drug bust

Three Leamington men and a Windsor man were charged along with 16 other suspects after more than $65 million in drugs was seized in a joint police operation.

In the fall of 2021, investigators from the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS), Peel Regional Police (PRP) and the Hamilton-Niagara Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) started the joint investigation dubbed “Project Gateway”.

Police say the 10-month investigation identified that this organized group was engaged in a number of alleged criminal enterprises including:

• Conspiring to smuggle cocaine from Mexico and Los Angeles into Canada by transport truck (via various ports of entry) and boat across the St. Clair River;
• Operating cocaine extraction labs in rural properties located in South-Western Ontario designed to transform smuggled cocaine from an altered state (used to conceal the substance) to powder cocaine for resale;
• Smuggling cannabis and cannabis derivatives from Canada to the United States and other countries internationally by transport truck and registered shipping services;
• Smuggling large amounts of tobacco from the United States into Canada by transport truck. Some of the smuggled tobacco was kept in Canada while some was smuggled overseas from Canada;
• Smuggling people across the Niagara River into New York State by boat;
• Possessing stolen vehicles and shipping them overseas;
• Firearms possession;
• Employing illegal foreign workers to work at cannabis production sites and to clean chain hotels;
• Production of cannabis on a massive scale and smuggled into the United States using transport trucks; and
• Production of illegal cigarettes.

Over the last 10 months, police say a variety of seizures were made while collecting evidence relating to alleged smuggling activities.

Some of these seizures included the following:

• A shipment of cannabis weighing 339.5 lbs that was destined for Europe. (estimated value of $1,356,000 CDN);
• 22 skids of undeclared tobacco with an approximate weight of 33,000 lbs. (estimated value of $230,000);
• 45,000 cannabis plants and over 20,000 lbs. of processed cannabis (estimated value of $62,792,000.00);
• 80 Kilograms of cocaine (valued at approximately $3,200,000.00) was seized by authorities in Canada and the United States.

On Sept. 14, the active joint project came to a conclusion with the execution of search warrants in various locations throughout Ontario. The search warrants were executed with the assistance of approximately 175 police officers from police agencies across Southern Ontario and 10 Canada Border Services Agency officers.

The totality of the investigation and the warrants that were executed in Brampton, Milton, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Woodbridge, Richmond Hill and Hamilton resulted in numerous charges laid against several individuals, along with the seizure of 3,007.5 lbs. of cannabis (valued at $3,007,500), 136.3 grams of cocaine (valued at $13,630), three handguns, two shotguns, a rifle, 1650 rounds of ammunition, six stolen vehicles and over $467 000 in currency.

As a result of Project Gateway, the following charges have been laid:

69-year-old Ollie Mastronardi of Leamington, Ont.

• Possession of Cannabis for the Purpose of Distribution – S. 9(2) Cannabis Act
• Cultivate Cannabis from a Seed or Plant Material, knowing it was illicit – S. 12(4)(a) Cannabis Act
• Cultivation of Cannabis Without Authorization – Cultivate not in a Dwelling House – S. 12(6)(a) Cannabis Act

43-year-old Mark Mastronardi of Leamington, Ont.

• Possession of Cannabis for the Purpose of Distribution – S. 9(2) Cannabis Act
• Cultivate Cannabis from a Seed or Plant Material, knowing it was illicit – S. 12(4)(a) Cannabis Act
• Cultivation of Cannabis Without Authorization – Cultivate not in a Dwelling House – S. 12(6)(a) Cannabis Act

45-year-old Joseph Spano of Leamington, Ont.

• Possession of Cannabis for the Purpose of Distribution – S. 9(2) Cannabis Act
• Cultivate Cannabis from a Seed or Plant Material, knowing it was illicit – S. 12(4)(a) Cannabis Act
• Cultivation of Cannabis Without Authorization – Cultivate not in a Dwelling House – S. 12(6)(a) Cannabis Act

28-year-old Fawzi Zaid of Windsor, Ont.

• Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking a Schedule I Substance (cocaine) – S. 5(2) CDSA

In addition to the NRPS, PRP and RCMP, several law enforcement agencies worked as part of this parallel investigation throughout the duration of Project Gateway including: Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), FBI Buffalo International Organized Crime Task Force (BIOCTF), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, multiple Units/Sections from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Windsor Police Service, Lasalle Police Service, Chatham Police Service, York Regional Police, Gatineau Police Service, Hamilton Police Service, Toronto Police Service and Halton Police Service.