Several arrested, drugs seized as part of RCMP investigation

Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs and cash has been seized as part of a months-long RCMP investigation. 

The Mounties say “Operation Highspeed” was launched in Nov. 2022, tracking the movement of drugs between Ontario and the Maritime provinces. 

“A component of this drug trafficking was believed to include the shipping of parcels using commercial bus lines,” said lead investigator Cst. Chad Morrison, adding police in Nova Scotia had been aware of a drug trafficking network involving organized crime in Ontario since 2021. 

On Jan. 16 and 17, officers searched three locations in the Halifax area, including a business on Inglis St. and a home in Bedford, seizing 1.3 kg of cocaine, 2 kg of MDMA, some 4,000 psilocybin pills and $45,000 in cash.

“That is largest single seizure of MDMA in Nova Scotia,” said Supt. Jason Popik. “We've never seen that (amount) before”. 

According to police, two of the people arrested in the Halifax area were taken into custody at a Halifax bus terminal.

Popik says drug traffickers were quick to change tactics when the pandemic shut down most marine traffic. 

“Organized crime tends to be a lot more nimble than we are,” said Popik. “It moved very quickly into transport trucks and other land-based means.” 

Three men and one woman are now facing drug trafficking charges and have been released with pending court dates. 

The RCMP says another man, a 28-year-old from Halifax, is still being sought as part of the investigation.