RCMP logo is shown in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson)
Twenty-seven people have been charged so far following a months-long RCMP investigation into a drug trafficking network operating on the Bunibonibee Cree Nation.
Project Derry was launched in June by Manitoba RCMP after a series of violent incidents in the community, including an arson that destroyed the band office. The investigation involved First Nation Safety Officers and RCMP units from Oxford House, Thompson, Selkirk and Winnipeg.
Police say the criminal organization was responsible for shipping, processing, packaging and distributing drugs in the community, including cocaine, oxycodone, fentanyl and carfentanil. The group also handled enforcement, payments and the storage and distribution of weapons. Investigators found that some buyers expecting oxycodone were instead given fentanyl, a far more potent drug.
RCMP also determined that float planes were being used to fly large quantities of alcohol into the community for illegal resale.
In total, 51 charges have been laid against the 27 suspects. Eighteen are from the Bunibonibee Cree Nation, while the remaining suspects are from Winnipeg and Thompson. Most of those arrested remain in custody, and RCMP say additional arrests and charges are expected.
Police seized nine firearms, about two kilograms of cocaine packaged for sale, hundreds of oxycodone and fentanyl pills, a small quantity of carfentanil, and hundreds of bottles of liquor.
Following arrests made in November, calls for service to Oxford House RCMP dropped by nearly 50 percent compared to the previous month, and were down 67 percent during the first week of December compared to the same period last year.
The investigation remains ongoing.
