The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) broke up a cross-border drug ring tied to Mexican cartels and seized what it says is its largest amount of cocaine ever.
The two-year-long Project Cerberus — which takes its name from the three-headed hound that guards the gates of the underworld in Greek mythology — began in May 2023, with the help of RCMP, Calgary police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It wrapped this month.
According to ALERT, the network would get the cocaine from Mexican cartels, transport it through the United States, then import and distribute it across Canada from British Columbia to Ontario.
Five Alberta men — two from Calgary and three from Edmonton — have been arrested and now face a combined 31 charges related to organized crime, drugs, money laundering and conspiracy.
A sixth man, from Edmonton, was first arrested as part of the investigation in October 2024 after 96 kilograms of cocaine was found in a home in Houston. ALERT says he was involved in transporting the drugs through the U.S. en route to Canada. He was sentenced to more than 11 years in U.S. federal prison.
In addition to the arrests, officials seized 157 kilograms of cocaine, which ALERT says tested at between 96- to 98-per-cent purity and would have a street value of more than $15 million.
Officials also seized 15 firearms, nearly one million dollars in cash and seven vehicles retrofitted with hidden compartments.
The first cocaine seized was found in just such a compartment, when Manitoba RCMP discovered 61 kilograms of the drug hidden in a vehicle near Richer, Man., in March 2024.
Sgt. Matt Pumphrey, an RCMP officer assigned to Calgary ALERT, says those compartments were operated by a complex hydraulic system. He considers them the most surprising find of the investigation.
“Our information suggests that the organized crime group was paying upwards of $50,000 to have these hidden compartments installed, and this speaks to the sophistication of their operation and profit motive,” said Pumphrey.
Bust a ‘drop in the bucket’
Those types of methods of concealing drugs in vehicles are used “all the time,” said Kelly Sundberg, a former Canada Border Services Agency officer and now a criminology professor at Mount Royal University. But he warns the tools to identify them at the border are not available around the clock at all crossings.
He would like to see drug-sniffing K-9 units and X-ray scanning technology available at all ports of entry 24/7.
“Is it going to be expensive? Is it going to require a lot of training and a lot of resources? Absolutely it will. But, it’ll save lives,” said Sundberg.
“Can you imagine if we only had metal detectors and screening of passengers at a few airports, and if we did have it, we only did it every now and then?” said Sundberg. “It would be ridiculous.”
While Sundberg applauds the results of the investigation and the province for taking the lead, he believes until screening is stepped up, this represents “a drop in the bucket.”
Temitope Oriola, a criminology professor at the University of Alberta, says the bust is a “massive deal,” but warns these types of criminal networks can be quick to adapt and continue operating.
“Unfortunately, these are hydra-headed, multi-faceted entities,” said Oriola.
“This is an incredible accomplishment by law enforcement across Canada and the U.S., but it may not signal the end of the particular organized criminal syndicate here.”
