Manitoba files third lawsuit related to cocaine network

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This article was published 10/12/2024 (291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government has filed a third lawsuit to retain more high-priced items seized by Winnipeg police as part of a national cocaine trafficking probe.

In March, officers executed 22 search warrants in Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario after a 10-month investigation dubbed Project Soft Landing.

Police allege the network conspired to transport cocaine from the Toronto area to Winnipeg, where it was sold.

Law enforcement used techniques such as “the use of physical and electronic devices, production orders and various warrants” during the investigation, court documents say.

In the first lawsuit, filed in the Court of King’s Bench on Oct. 24, the director of civil forfeiture seeks to retain $230,000 and a gold Rolex watch seized by city police.

Details about the investigation, which police revealed in May, are part of the initial civil suit filed against Arber Imeri of Burlington, Ont., who was charged criminally, and Alissa Ramacieri, who was not charged.

On Oct. 28, the forfeiture office filed its second lawsuit tied to the case, naming Kevon Warmington, Kerry Ann Thompson and a second woman, who was not charged, as defendants.

The second suit seeks $255,000 seized from Warmington’s home, as well as expensive jewelry, designer clothing and a BMW.

A new lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 6, names defendants Tyrone Reid, the alleged leader of the network, his mother, Fiona Debbie Lewis, his sister Kayla Reid, Andy Van Le, and a man who lived at the Lewis home who was not charged.

The government is seeking expensive jewelry and $500 seized from Tyrone Reid’s home in Toronto, $483,000 in cash seized from a Winnipeg home owned by Lewis, a Mercedes Benz and a few hundred in cash from Kayla Reid, and just under $6,000 from the Hamilton home of Van Le.

Kayla Reid has not been charged criminally, while Lewis and Le have.

The forfeiture office files lawsuits to retain money and other goods it and police argue are either the proceeds of crime or were purchased with dirty money.

Police secretly captured video and audio recordings and intercepted about 20,000 communications during the investigation — many of which were sent using encrypted messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Signal, court documents say.

Police used phone data to track suspects’ movements throughout Winnipeg and across provincial borders, while financial records were used to flag transactions believed to be related to the proceeds of crime, the records claim.

Investigators secretly entered suspects’ homes and vehicles on 35 occasions to gather evidence, including sampling substances and containers to confirm the presence of drugs, locating hidden compartments and documenting bundles of cash, cocaine and drug-packaging material, court documents say.

Nine of the accused are from Winnipeg: Lewis, Thompson, Adrian Cheston, Cornelius Hibbert, Elvis Oyewole, Paige Preteau, Tovary Sharpe, Darcy Warmington and Kevon Warmington.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca