A cross-border drug trafficking network has been dismantled after Alberta law enforcement made what it said was the bust of millions of dollars of nearly pure cocaine — one of the largest drug seizures in Alberta history.
On Tuesday, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) shared details from a two-year, cross-border investigation called Project Cerberus — named after the multi-headed dog from Greek mythology that guards the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from leaving.
In total, six people were charged with offences related to organized crime, conspiracy, money laundering, and drugs over the course of the year-and-a-half investigation.
Beginning in May 2023, ALERT said the investigation uncovered an organized crime group that was involved in extensive cross-border drug trafficking between Canada and the United States and had established ties to Mexican cartels.
The criminals were allegedly involved in getting cartel cocaine from Mexico. The drugs were then being smuggled into Canada and distributed across the country and to other criminal organizations using a fleet of vehicles ALERT said was equipped with sophisticated hidden compartments.
Project Cerberus led to the seizure of 157 kg of cocaine which, if sold on the street, would have an estimated value of over $15 million.
The cocaine tested at between 96-98 per cent purity, ALERT said.
It was the agency’s largest cocaine seizure and one of the largest in the province.
Some of the drugs and 157 kilograms of cocaine with a 96-98 per cent purity that was seized in Canada and the U.S. as part of a cross-border investigation into drugs being smuggled from Mexico to Alberta.
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams
In addition to the record amount of cocaine seized, ALERT said it also seized 15 firearms, nearly $1 million in cash and a fleet of seven vehicles equipped with hidden compartments used in drug smuggling operations.
The drugs were seized on two different occasions.
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In March 2024, a 61-kg shipment of cocaine was seized via the Manitoba Roving Traffic Unit near Richer, Man. The cocaine was concealed inside a vehicle’s hidden compartment.
Then in October of the same year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Houston field division seized 96 kg of cocaine at a home in the Texas city.
ALERT’s investigation identified the home as a possible stash location for the criminals they were keeping tabs on and a Canadian man was arrested.
Jack Kasjaniuk, 35, from Edmonton was charged with possession of drugs with the intent to distribute.
Kasjaniuk had since pled guilty in the United States and on Sept. 8 was sentenced to 135 months in a federal prison by the Southern District of Texas Court.
Some of the drugs and 157 kilograms of cocaine with a 96-98 per cent purity that was seized in Canada and the U.S. as part of a cross-border investigation into drugs being smuggled from Mexico to Alberta.
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams
This past July, more charges were laid against five more people from Calgary and the Edmonton area that ALERT said represent high-ranking members of the organized crime group.
Together, they face a total of 31 criminal charges
- Reza Muhammad, 26, from Calgary
- Jordan Plamondon, 40, from Spruce Grove
- Ji Hwan Kim, 34, from Calgary
- Allan Leung, 33, from Edmonton
- James Morrissette, 33, from Edmonton
All five have been released and have court appearances in Calgary between Sept. 26 and Oct. 3.
Project Cerberus was led by ALERT Calgary’s organized crime team. The agency said it also heavily involved the DEA, the Calgary Police Service, and various units within the RCMP.
The project involved upwards of 450 investigators and civilian staff from the Calgary and Edmonton police services, along with investigators from B.C., the Toronto area, Ontario Provincial Police, Canada Border Services Agency, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), and Service Alberta.
Various units within the RCMP also were involved, including Federal Serious and Organized Crime, International Special Services, Integrated Border Enforcement Team, Manitoba Highway Patrol, B.C. Highway Patrol, and detachments in Kamloops, Cochrane, Didsbury, Chestermere, Okotoks, Lloydminster, St. Albert, and Maidstone, Sask.
Help from American law enforcement came from the DEA Vancouver Resident Office, DEA Houston Division, DEA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (HIDTA) and the Houston Police Department.
ALERT is an Alberta government agency that brings in staff from law enforcement across the province to investigate serious and organized crime.
Project Cerberus is now concluded, ALERT said.
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