Sep 12, 2007 - 12:49 PM

By Jeff Mitchell

DURHAM -- A little bit of luck and months of dogged police work have led to the arrest of 12 people -- including a member of the Hells Angels and an airport baggage handler -- in the single largest cocaine seizure in the history of the Durham police force.

Six Durham residents were among those busted when police executed search warrants here and throughout the GTA Tuesday morning, breaking what’s being described as an international cocaine smuggling operation that saw drugs brought to Canada on commercial flights, while money flowed back to the Caribbean by conspirators posing as tourists.

“We’ve dismantled a significant cocaine pipeline in the GTA,” Durham Chief Mike Ewles told reporters gathered at a Whitby police station Wednesday morning.

“It has put a big dent in the market, we believe.”

The investigation, dubbed Project Merlin, resulted in the seizure of 26 kg of powder cocaine valued at more than $3 million, 12 guns along with ammunition and nearly $45,000 in cash. More than 200 drug, conspiracy and weapons charges have been laid so far against 12 people and cops have seized eight private vehicles they’ve labelled as proceeds of crime.

Police allege those arrested were part of a ring that smuggled dope from the Dominican Republic into Canada on commercial passenger jets, with employees at airports in both countries playing crucial roles. The cocaine was concealed in jet cargo holds, police said.

“Airport employees on both ends were involved in this operation,” said Inspector Tom Cameron of Durham’s Criminal Intelligence Branch.

“The cocaine was destined for distribution in Durham Region and other municipalities in the GTA.”

The well-established ring made attempts to import coke at least once a week, Insp. Cameron said. He wouldn’t discuss the methods used by police during the lengthy investigation, including whether or not drug officers worked undercover to infiltrate the operation.

What was revealed was that the ring appears to have been in operation for at least a year prior to the beginning of the investigation and that it saw large quantities of coke smuggled onto and off planes coming to Toronto from the Dominican Republic. Money flowed back to the Dominican by way of couriers posing as tourists, who flew to the Caribbean with cash concealed on their bodies.

Project Merlin began last October after what at first seemed to be a simple traffic accident. A motorist driving along the South Service Road near Hwy. 401 in Bowmanville apparently was distracted by police working in a field near the Darlington nuclear plant -- human remains had been discovered in the area and a tent had been erected over the site -- when his car went out of control and crashed.

Police attending the accident scene discovered nearly 100 pounds of vacuum-packed marijuana and almost $17,000 in cash.

The event tipped police to a drug importing operation that soon became international in scope.

Over the next 11 months Durham investigators, working closely with other agencies such as the Canadian Border Services and Peel Police, pieced together the smuggling operation and the players involved. The cocaine, weapons and cash were seized during a series of raids early Tuesday in Ajax, Bowmanville, Oshawa, Whitby, Toronto, Barrie, Brampton and Markham.

Among the guns seized were assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols. The guns, drugs, and stacks of Canadian and U.S. currency were on display for the media at the 18 Division headquarters in Whitby Wednesday.

Among those arrested were Jeremy Wayne Brown, 30, of Margaret Street in Oshawa -- a full-patch member of the Hells Angels Oshawa chapter -- and a baggage handler at Pearson International Airport. Mr. Brown faces 47 charges, including conspiracy to import cocaine and trafficking and numerous weapons offences including 10 counts of possession of a weapon obtained by crime.

Other Durham residents arrested are:

• Jason Ian McGee, 28, of Renaissance Avenue, Oshawa

• Shane Collins, 19, and Chad Lindsay Collins, 27, of Burcher Road, Ajax

• Gary William Livingstone, 43, of Renaissance Ave., Oshawa

• Lindsay Ann Barras, 29, of Waywell Street, Whitby.

The investigation continues and more arrests may occur, Chief Ewles said.

The operation not only prevented the distribution of a large quantity of cocaine, but also disabled a significant criminal enterprise, Insp. Cameron said.