Cash seized from a Winnipeg home on April 29, 2026, as part of Project Darling, an investigation targeting a drug trafficking network operating in northern Manitoba. (RCMP HANDOUT)
Five people are facing charges following a months-long RCMP investigation into an illegal drug trafficking network shipping narcotics from Winnipeg to remote northern Manitoba communities.
Project Darling launched in January 2026 and targeted drug shipments between Winnipeg and several northern communities including Island Lake, Split Lake, Oxford House, and Thompson.
The investigation led officers to a residence in the 3000 block of Pembina Highway in Winnipeg, where officers executed a search warrant on April 29. Approximately $58,000 in cash was seized from inside the home, and five people were arrested.
Carlita Vasquez, 28, of Winnipeg, Natneal Arefaine, 26, of Calgary, and three Ontario men — Ayub Abdi, 24, Jabril Farah, 27, and Alex Keng, 22 — face multiple charges.
“The success of Project Darling and Project Derry underscores the unrelenting determination of our officers to uncovering, impairing and dismantling a criminal organization that brings harm and violence to northern communities,” said RCMP Supt. Jeff Asmundson, who oversees the Manitoba Integrated Law Enforcement Team (MILET).
“These efforts remain ongoing as part of our commitment to making Manitoba safer for all residents.”
Vasquez, Arefaine, and Keng remain in custody. Abdi and Farah were released on an undertaking.
