EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is part of an ongoing SooToday series — 'Turning the Tide' — that explores potential solutions to our city’s toxic drug crisis. You can read more about our project HERE.
It was back in 2022 when Sault Police first became aware of an individual known as ‘Stacks,’ considered the biggest supplier of illicit drugs in the city.
Nearly three years later, Richard Anderson Brewster — also known as hip hop artist Richie Stacks, an alleged member of the Toronto Driftwood Crips — is preparing to stand trial, along with Leyla Ibrahim and Tequar Jones, for their alleged roles in trafficking huge amounts of illicit drugs in three Ontario cities.
The trio was among five people arrested in January 2023 after more than $1-million worth of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine was seized by police in Sault Ste. Marie and Durham Region while executing warrants as part of Project Otter.
The local portion of the joint drug bust, which took aim at a MacDonald Avenue apartment complex, netted 700 grams of fentanyl — a record one-time seizure for the local police service.
"Removing this poison from our community will save lives," said a police news release issued at the time. "We are committed to identifying traffickers in our community. We will seize their assets and bring them before the courts."
Project Otter is one of the most glaring examples of illicit drugs being trafficked in the north, including massive quantities of fentanyl — a powerful and dangerous opioid responsible for so many of the overdose deaths that have hit our community in recent years.
At Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, it’s no secret where most of the drug supply is coming from.
“Through investigations and projects that we've been involved in, the information that we're receiving is that a large amount of the drugs are coming from the southern Ontario region,” said Insp. William Freeman, who is part of the Investigation Services division at the police service.
As previously reported by Village Media, drug-trafficking street gangs from the Greater Toronto Area have been branching out into cities and small towns in northern Ontario for years, all in an effort to cash in on the opioid crisis.
Drug traffickers have also been actively targeting First Nations throughout Ontario, where more and more out-of-town dealers are being arrested and charged by police with illicit drugs and weapons in their possession.
That also includes First Nations around the Sault.
In August, Sault Ste. Marie Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police arrested and charged a Peterborough, Ont. woman with trafficking following a traffic stop in Garden River First Nation.
Police found about 500.3 grams of suspected cocaine, approximately 280.52 grams of suspected fentanyl, cutting agents, around $730 in Canadian currency and two cellular devices.
Anishinabek Police Service said in a statement that drug traffickers “importing violence and misery to prey on the most vulnerable in First Nations communities” is nothing new: It’s well known that the opioid epidemic has had a “disproportionate impact” on Indigenous communities.
“Every overdose death is a preventable tragedy,” said APS Chief Jeff Skye.
“These aren’t just numbers; these are our children, our neighbours, our friends, our aunties and our uncles.
“It remains a priority for the Anishinabek Police Service to not only preserve public safety through the interception of drugs coming into our 16 communities, but to also take a harm reduction approach to those who are navigating substance use challenges.”
In 2020, former Sault Police Chief Hugh Stevenson told Village Media that northern Ontario towns are a “significant market for GTA drug dealers.”
“I don't think we can pin it on any organized gang or organized crime syndicate, let's just say,” Freeman said. “I will say that the people that are bringing the drugs from southern Ontario up into our northern communities, they are organized in nature.”
Although out-of-towners soak up a lot of police resources, they're not the only ones cashing in on the Sault's opioid crisis.
This past April, Sault Police announced the seizure of more than $300,000 in drugs as the result of a joint forces operation in partnership with Ontario Provincial Police.
A total of 250 charges have been laid in Project Kentucky, a five-month investigation that resulted in an estimated $317,451 in illicit substances being seized by police — including approximately 258.95 grams of fentanyl and 49 pills of suspected oxycodone.
Six firearms, two replica firearms and a pair of brass knuckles were also seized in the operation, along with $16,415 in Canadian currency.
The vast majority of the 27 arrests made in Project Kentucky were locals.
“It was a prime example of that where we collaborated with other partners, specifically the OPP in a rather large project,” Freeman said. “Now, that's still before the court, so obviously I can't comment on too much, but it was a significant project resulting in numerous arrests.”
All in all, drug trafficking made for an especially busy 2024 for police in the city:
- Total value of drugs seized was in excess of $880,000
- 102 possession for the purpose of trafficking charges laid
- 176 CDSA charges laid
- 25 drug and firearm search warrants executed
- Naloxone administered in four instances
Freeman pointed out that battling drug trafficking in the Sault is both costly and time consuming for his police service, which established a police substation in the city’s downtown to address concerns around public safety due to an increase in crime — a problem brought on largely in part by the city’s ongoing opioid crisis.
“I think it's been very taxing on police services for many reasons: The intricate parts of investigations, the costs of investigations, time,” said Freeman. “I'm sure that it's put quite a strain on court services — not to mention social services, addiction services, mental health.
“It's a very broad spectrum, to be honest with you.”
