Two Carleton Place residents among 11 charged in major Ottawa area drug bust
Editor’s note: This story was updated on July 9, 2026 after charges against one of the accused were withdrawn.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says its officers have seized large quantities of suspected cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, heroin and other illegal substances with an estimated street value of $2.7 million, and arrested 11 high-level and mid-level drug traffickers supplying illegal drugs in the Ottawa area and into Québec.
An Aug. 22 media release says that the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau (OCEB), supported by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), began “Project Fossil” in September 2023.
“This was an intelligence-led investigation with the objective to investigate multiple independent cells of high-level and mid-level drug trafficking networks supplying illegal commodities to drug distribution networks within our communities, including online distribution methods,” police say. “The accused trafficked in large volumes of controlled substances, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, illicit cannabis and psilocybin.”
On Aug. 8, the investigative team executed 13 search warrants in Ottawa, Carleton Place and Gatineau, Québec with members from:
- OPP OCEB
- OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit
- OPP Emergency Response Team
- OPP Canine
- OPP-led Provincial Guns and Gangs Enforcement Unit
- OPP-led Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit
- OPP-led Provincial Auto Theft and Towing Team
- OPP-led Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit
- OPP-led Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team
- OPP Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau
- OPP Regional Support Team
- OPP Anti-Rackets Branch
- OPP Ottawa Detachment
- OPS Tactical Unit
- OPS Explosive Disposal Unit.
- OPS Canine
- OPS Intelligence Unit
- SQ
- Service de Police de la Ville de Gatineau
- Cornwall Police Service
- Canada Border Services Agency
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police SES
Project Fossil has also been supported by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
Throughout the course of the investigation, police seized:
- 15 kg of suspected cocaine
- Four kg of suspected methamphetamine
- 2.25 kg of suspected heroin
- Seven pounds of suspected psilocybin and more than 1,000 psilocybin edibles
- 33 grams of suspected MDMA
- 2,000 hydromorphone tablets
- More than 35 pounds of illegal cannabis, two kg cannabis concentrates and more than 1,000 cannabis edibles
- Two firearms
- Approximately $337,000 in Canadian currency
- Approximately $880,000 in gold
- More than 75 prohibited devices (conducted energy weapons)
Police say the drugs seized have an estimated street-value of $2.7 million, and the investigation is ongoing.
Eleven individuals have been charged with a total of 165 offences contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and the Cannabis Act. Nine of the accused were remanded into custody upon arrest, one is currently incarcerated in relation to another matter, and one was released. The accused are scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa on later dates.
Among the were two Carleton Place residents.
One individual had the charges withdrawn against them, so their name has been removed from this article.
Jasdeep Grewal, 28, is facing one charge:
• Possession for the purpose of trafficking – heroin, s. 5(2) CDSA
This charge has not been proven in court. He was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on a on a later date.
Learn more by viewing the “Project Fossil” highlight video on YouTube.
Anyone with information on drug trafficking or illegal activity is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.