10 people charged in Ottawa area drug bust

Bags of suspected cocaine, seized during a drug investigation in the Ottawa area March 3 – 5, 2025. (OPP/handout)

Ontario Provincial Police say 10 people have been arrested and are facing a combined 58 charges following a drug bust in the Ottawa area.

The investigation began late last year and culminated with searches at six homes and three vehicles in Ottawa, Renfrew, and Gatineau, Que. between March 3 and 5. Officers from the OPP, the Sûreté du Québec, the Ottawa Police Service, the Gatineau Police Service, and the Canada Border Services Agency aided in the investigation, OPP said.

Police said the following items were seized:

• Two firearms
• Approximately 1.17 kg of suspected cocaine
• Approximately 8 g of suspected fentanyl
• More than 150 pregabalin tablets
• More than 390 alprazolam tablets
• More than 100 hydromorphone tablets
• $187,419 in Canadian currency
• Two vehicles as offence-related property
• Nine cellphones
• Digital scales
• Pepper spray
• Luxury watches and jewellery
• Two money counters
• Packaging material

Police estimated the street value of the seized drugs at $113,000.

Five Ottawa residents, four people from Renfrew, and one resident of Gatineau are facing charges that include possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, and possession of a controlled substance. The accused are a mix of men and women and range in age from 27 to 65. Three people are facing firearms charges, and one person is charged with resisting arrest and assaulting police.

Six of the accused remain in custody. Four have been released with court dates in Renfrew and Ottawa over the next several weeks.