KINGSTON, ON — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced the arrest this week of three drug traffickers who had been supplying prescription opiates to northern Ontario First Nations.
It was the result of an investigation requested by Health Canada last year into trafficking between Kingston and the remote communities.
In October 2017, the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council, representing First Nations around James Bay, declared a state of emergency because of rampant opioid abuse.
RCMP said their investigation uncovered a criminal network based in Kingston.
The accused include two men and a woman, all from the eastern Ontario city.
RCMP Superintendent Ivan Verdurmen said their arrests show how the force combats criminal elements "that exploit and take advantage of the remote geography of some Indigenous communities."
