Southern Ont. Police Service Records Biggest-Ever Gun Haul in Operation Against Drug and Weapons Network

A southern Ontario police force has dealt a blow to a drug‑trafficking and firearms network operating throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), after a bust resulted in the seizure of 24 handguns and large quantities of cocaine and opioids.

Halton Regional Police confiscated the guns and drugs as part of Project Cyprus, a six-month long investigation into a “sophisticated and well-organized” drug trafficking network operating throughout Toronto as well as the Halton, York, and Durham regions, investigators announced at a May 19 press conference.

The 24 handguns all traced back to the United States, along with 20 illegal over‑capacity magazines and ammunition, making it the “largest firearm seizure in the history of the Halton Regional Police Service,” Chief Stephen Tanner said.

“Every one of these weapons represents a potential tragedy prevented,” Tanner told reporters. “What is particularly concerning, and frankly alarming, is that all of the firearms seized in this investigation originated from the United States.” 

The vast majority of illegal guns in the Halton region and surrounding areas originate from the United States, Tanner said, noting that in most jurisdictions “90 percent of handguns recovered from violent crimes are traced back to the U.S..” 

The confiscated weapons were smuggled across the border through various methods, including concealed vehicle compartments used to store firearms, police said.

“This was not a small, localized operation,” Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie said. “This criminal network extended beyond our region with connections that reached across municipal, provincial, and international boundaries.”

The Halton region, west of Toronto, includes Burlington, Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills, and is considered part of the Golden Horseshoe.

The nine search warrants carried out across the GTA on homes and vehicles also resulted in the seizure of 16.5 kilograms of cocaine, more than 16,000 oxycodone tablets, 3,000 millilitres of liquid hydrocodone, 10,500 millilitres of liquid codeine, and more than $375,000 in Canadian currency and cryptocurrency over the course of the investigation, police said.

Tevin Moulton, 31, of Oshawa, Duo Chao “Jason” Xue, 29, of Richmond Hill, Sebastian Machado, 26, of Toronto, and Todd Woodman, 36, of Mississauga face a combined 30 charges in connection with the investigation, police said. All four suspects were held in custody pending bail hearings in Milton.

Police said the criminal organization is thought to be a “large network” and there are likely others associated with it who remain at large.

Tanner said the guns confiscated by his officers are merely the “tip of the iceberg” and more needs to be done to stop the illegal cross-border trafficking.