ONTARIO-Police say more than 40,000 kg of contraband tobacco, a handgun and manufacturing equipment have been seized following an investigation into a criminal network producing and manufacturing contraband tobacco on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team (CTET) began Project TRACK in April 2026 to support the Six Nations Police Service after a separate incident prompted a broader criminal investigation. The investigation involved a tobacco manufacturing facility connected to a non-Indigenous criminal network according to police. The profits generated from the illegal tobacco production were being channelled into the external criminal enterprise according to police.
On Thursday, June 11, 2026, search warrants were executed at a residence in Hamilton, as well as a large-scale manufacturing facility and on a vehicle on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory by members from:
- OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau (OCEB)
- OPP CTET
- Six Nations Police Service
- OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit
- OPP Emergency Response Team
- OPP Aviation Unit
- OPP Community Street Crime Units
- Ontario Ministry of Finance (MOF)
- OPP Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit
- Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
As a result of the search warrants, officers seized more than 40,000 kg of contraband tobacco (fine cut tobacco and cigarettes) and 300 kg of shisha tobacco with an estimated street value of more than $10 million.
