OPP Seize $4.1M in Drugs, Dismantle Interprovincial Trafficking Networks
THUNDER BAY – NATIONAL CRIME NEWS – Ontario Provincial Police say several independent drug-trafficking networks operating between eastern Ontario and Montreal have been dismantled after officers seized more than $4.1 million in suspected fentanyl, cocaine and counterfeit prescription tablets.
The case matters in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario because fentanyl, cocaine and counterfeit pills often move through interprovincial transportation corridors before reaching smaller and northern communities, where emergency health services, treatment options and harm-reduction resources can be limited.
Project REDLINE targeted Cornwall and Montreal networks
The OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau launched Project REDLINE in November 2025, with support from the Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau. The intelligence-led investigation focused on suspected drug-trafficking activity in Cornwall, Ont., and Montreal, Que.
Police say investigators identified four independent criminal networks: one allegedly trafficking fentanyl, two allegedly trafficking cocaine, and one allegedly trafficking counterfeit prescription medications and cocaine.
As the investigation expanded, the OPP worked with the Sûreté du Québec’s Escouade nationale de répression du crime organisé because of the interprovincial nature of the alleged networks. Police also say one of the networks was linked to an individual currently incarcerated at a correctional facility in the Montreal area.
Search warrants executed in Ontario and Quebec
On Thursday, April 16, 2026, police executed three search warrants at residences in Cornwall and four in Montreal.
The operation involved multiple police units and services, including the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, Sûreté du Québec, OPP Clandestine Laboratory Investigative Response Team, OPP Digital Forensics, OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit, OPP Emergency Response Team, OPP Canine Unit, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP, Cornwall Police Service and Service de police de la Ville de Montréal.
Police reported seizing approximately 20 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, 14 kilograms of suspected cocaine and 80,000 counterfeit prescription tablets.
The OPP say that the 20-kilogram fentanyl seizure represents about 200,000 street-level doses.
Using the commonly cited two-milligram potentially lethal dose benchmark, the same quantity could represent up to 10 million potentially lethal doses, depending on purity, potency and individual tolerance.
Health Canada cautions that fentanyl can cause life-threatening effects quickly, including slowed breathing, unconsciousness and death.
Thirteen people charged with 105 offences
Police say 13 people have been charged with a combined 105 offences under the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The charges include trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.
Persons charged in Project REDLINE
Tyler Bertrand, 44, of Cornwall, Ont.
Bertrand faces 24 charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – nine counts.
Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – two counts.
Trafficking fentanyl, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – 13 counts.
Bertrand was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on May 5, 2026.
Jeremy Ceasor, 32, of Cornwall, Ont.
Ceasor faces five charges:
Trafficking fentanyl, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – one count.
Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, contrary to section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Failing to comply with a probation order, contrary to section 733.1(1) of the Criminal Code – three counts.
Ceasor was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on May 8, 2026.
Jamie Lee Corrigan, 40, of Cornwall, Ont.
Corrigan faces seven charges:
Trafficking fentanyl, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – one count.
Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, contrary to section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Failing to comply with a probation order, contrary to section 733.1(1) of the Criminal Code – five counts.
Corrigan was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on May 6, 2026.
Yuri Contreras Rivera, 23, of Montreal
Contreras Rivera faces 12 charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – six counts.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – six counts.
Contreras Rivera was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on May 13, 2026.
Juan Garcia Reynoso, 58, of Montreal
Garcia Reynoso faces 25 charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – six counts.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – three counts.
Trafficking benzimidazole, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – five counts.
Trafficking in a drug represented to be hydromorphone, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – three counts.
Trafficking in a drug represented to be oxycodone, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – five counts.
Trafficking methamphetamine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – one count.
Trafficking benzodiazepine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – two counts.
Garcia Reynoso was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on May 12, 2026.
Anthony Medina, 41, of Repentigny, Que.
Medina faces 16 charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – four counts.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – two counts.
Trafficking benzimidazole, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – two counts.
Trafficking in a drug represented to be hydromorphone, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – three counts.
Trafficking in a drug represented to be oxycodone, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – five counts.
Medina was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on May 12, 2026.
Wilson Duarte Rosario, 46, of Montreal
Duarte Rosario faces five charges:
Conspiracy to traffic cocaine, contrary to section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – four counts.
Police say Duarte Rosario is currently incarcerated on another matter. He is scheduled to appear before the Court of Quebec in Montreal on May 12, 2026.
Clarisa Gil Corcino, 52, of Montreal
Gil Corcino faces nine charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – two counts.
Conspiracy to traffic cocaine, contrary to section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – four counts.
Trafficking benzimidazole, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – one count.
Trafficking in a drug represented to be codeine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – one count.
Gil Corcino was released from custody following a bail hearing and is scheduled to appear before the Court of Quebec in Montreal on June 8, 2026.
Yandary Gil, 31, of Montreal
Gil faces one charge:
Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Gil was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear before the Court of Quebec in Montreal on June 8, 2026.
Valentina Prieto Gutierrez, 19, of Montreal
Prieto Gutierrez faces one charge:
Possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Prieto Gutierrez was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear before the Court of Quebec in Montreal on June 8, 2026.
Jimmy Sosa-Posada, 32, of Montreal
Sosa-Posada faces three charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Conspiracy to traffic cocaine, contrary to section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – one count.
Sosa-Posada was released from custody following a bail hearing and is scheduled to appear before the Court of Quebec in Montreal on June 8, 2026.
Name withheld, 39, of Montreal
A person whose name was withheld faces three charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Conspiracy to traffic cocaine, contrary to section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code – one count.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – one count.
Police say an arrest warrant has been issued.
Andre Roulez, 47, of Montreal
Roulez faces four charges:
Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code – two counts.
Trafficking cocaine, contrary to section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – two counts.
Police say Roulez is currently in custody on another matter. He is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on May 7, 2026.
What the charges mean under Canadian law
Section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act prohibits trafficking in a controlled substance or a substance represented as a controlled substance. For trafficking or possession for the purpose of trafficking, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment for Schedule I or II substances; for Schedule III or V substances, the maximum is 10 years if prosecuted by indictment or 18 months on summary conviction; and for Schedule IV substances, the maximum is three years by indictment or one year on summary conviction.
The addendum lists fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, codeine, benzodiazepines and benzimidazole-related allegations. The Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act lists cocaine, fentanyls, methamphetamine, hydromorphone and oxycodone in Schedule I, while benzodiazepines are listed in Schedule IV.
Section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code deals with possession of property, things or proceeds knowing they were obtained or derived from an indictable offence. Under section 355, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 can carry up to 10 years in prison if prosecuted by indictment; if the value is $5,000 or less, the maximum is two years if prosecuted by indictment. Both categories can also proceed by summary conviction.
Section 465(1)(c) of the Criminal Code applies to conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. A person convicted under that section is liable to the same punishment as the underlying indictable offence. Section 733.1(1) applies to failing or refusing, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a probation order; if prosecuted by indictment, the maximum sentence is four years in prison, or the matter may proceed summarily.
Actual sentences, if there are convictions, would depend on the evidence accepted in court, the role of each accused, the substance and quantity involved, prior record, aggravating or mitigating factors, and whether the Crown proceeds by indictment or summary conviction. A bail release, remand order or outstanding warrant is not a finding of guilt.
All accused individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Police say source of drugs remains under investigation
The OPP says illicit fentanyl may be imported from other countries or produced domestically with precursor chemicals in clandestine labs. Police also say cocaine is not produced domestically in Canada and enters the country illegally from other source countries.
Investigators say evidence gathered in Project REDLINE indicates the seized drugs were intended for domestic sale and use. The investigation into the source of the fentanyl and cocaine remains ongoing.
The OPP Clandestine Laboratory Investigative Response Team was involved in one Cornwall search because of potential high-risk conditions involving bulk substances. Police say there are no public safety concerns connected to that location.
Regional impact for Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario
Large-scale seizures in eastern Ontario and Quebec can still have implications for Thunder Bay. Northwestern Ontario is connected to national east-west transportation routes by highway, rail and air, and organized drug networks can use those corridors to move fentanyl, cocaine and counterfeit pills into regional centres and remote communities.
Counterfeit tablets present a particular danger because people may believe they are taking a pharmaceutical product when the dose or contents are unknown. In northern communities, delayed emergency response times, limited treatment beds and the distance to specialized care can increase the risk of fatal outcomes.
OPP Chief Supt. Mike Stoddart said Project REDLINE shows the importance of intelligence-led policing and collaboration across jurisdictions. SQ Lt. Grégory Gómez del Prado said the Quebec unit’s role is to target leaders of major criminal organizations.
Anyone with information about the possession, manufacturing or trafficking of illicit drugs is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online through Ontario Crime Stoppers.
