Arson, 'intimidation tactics' spurred Bunibonibee Cree Nation drug trafficking bust

More than two dozen people have been charged in connection with an alleged drug trafficking network operating in a northern Manitoba community.

RCMP have arrested and charged 27 people in connection with Project Derry, a months-long investigation into a drug-trafficking network in Bunibonibee Cree Nation, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Scott McMurchy said Friday.

"There's an escalation in violence in many of our First Nation communities in Manitoba, and the majority of these instances are tied to the drug trade," McMurchy said at a news conference in Winnipeg.

"[They have] no regard for the safety and well-being of community members.… They are only about making a profit, no matter the consequence."

McMurchy said Project Derry was launched after reports of cases of arson and other "intimidation tactics" used against community members. The April fire that destroyed the new band office in Bunibonibee was arson, RCMP said.

The 27 suspects have been charged with 51 offences after RCMP seized $1.2 million in drugs, weapons and contraband in Bunibonibee, said RCMP Supt. Jeff Asmundson.

There are warrants out for four of the 27 who haven't been arrested, RCMP say, while 22 of those arrested remain in custody.

Asmundson said 18 of the suspects are from Bunibonibee, which is about 575 kilometres north of Winnipeg, and the rest from Thompson and Winnipeg. The suspected leader was arrested last month.

The criminal organization was also bringing alcohol and weapons into Bunibonibee, RCMP allege.

In collaboration with local First Nation safety officers and police in Oxford House, Selkirk, Winnipeg and more, RCMP seized two kilograms of cocaine, hundreds of pills of oxycodone and fentanyl, a small amount of carfentanil, and hundreds of bottles of alcohol, said Asmundson.

"More arrests and charges will be laid as we continue to dismantle this criminal organization," he said.

"This was about partnerships in the community. We heard their calls to target drug traffickers and bootleggers, and our officers worked incredibly hard to make that happen."

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said there's a longstanding issue of drug trafficking into northern communities that has brought violence, overdose deaths and "despair for many communities."

"They often get in the hands of young people," he said. "That too often puts them on a bad path and makes the issues grow."

Reducing drug crime requires boots on the ground in the north, targeted interventions to prevent root causes of crime and "appropriate sentencing and rehabilitation to put people on that better path," Wiebe said.

The Manitoba Integrated Law Enforcement Team is part of that equation, he said. This investigation included First Nation safety officers and RCMP from four different communities.

"The success of this project is proof that with the right support … we can fight back against the drug traffickers and make a difference," Wiebe said.