Hits & Jams DJ wanted in Canada – fingered in US$12.2M cocaine bust, and arms smuggling ring
LOCAL entertainer and disc jockey (DJ) Dwidth Ferguson of the popular Georgetown-based entertainment company Hits and Jams is reportedly wanted by Canadian law enforcement after he was fingered in a cocaine and guns trafficking ring that has thus far seen twelve persons, including two women, arrested.The investigation in Canada, dubbed ‘Project Monto’, involves the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), York Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Toronto Police, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, as well as various law enforcement agencies from the United States.
News reports out of Canada said ten men and two women from Milton, Mississauga, Oakville, Vaughan and Toronto were taken into custody without incident. They face charges that include importation of cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking, and conspiracy.
According to the media reports, twelve persons were arrested in a bust that uncovered a drugs and guns smuggling ring, and they are looking for a 13th person. That person was listed as Guyanese Entertainer Dwidth Ferguson.
“A 13th suspect, 32-year-old Dwidth Ferguson of Georgetown, Guyana, is still outstanding and wanted for importation and trafficking charge,” a report from CP24.com stated.
Ontario Provincial Police Chief, Supt. Rick Barnum, told media operatives in Canada: “We’ll get him…it will just take a little bit of time.”
Twelve people arrested across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) face a total of 46 charges in connection with a year-long investigation that saw cocaine, prescription pills and handguns smuggled into Ontario from the United States and the Caribbean, the news report stated.
Barnum said it was since back in 2014 that they observed drugs arriving at Canada’s Pearson International Airport in luggage and other containers aboard planes arriving from California, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia and Guyana. Most of the drugs were to be sold in the GTA-area, but some were shipped onwards to Newfoundland and Labrador.
They also stated that, over the very same period, handguns traced back to Florida were taken into Canada, also via Pearson International Airport, based on the reports which quoted Barnum.
The reports also featured the guns which were seized as part of the operation as well as the drugs, all of which transited a Canadian airport.
A number of search warrants were conducted earlier this week in and around the GTA, leading to the seizure of 22 firearms, $146,000 in cash, four cars, and when combined with the hauls from three other related investigations, a total of 123 kilograms of cocaine. The wholesale value of the drugs seized is estimated to be US$12.2 million.
According to the news reports, the persons who were arrested by law enforcement are not low-level players in the guns and drugs trade, but are rather high-lever players in the operation, who it is suspected are responsible for the organisation and shipment of the illegal substances and weapons into the country.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the wanted Guyanese DJ travelled recently to Canada, but the law enforcement there could not immediately lay their hands on him. The Caribbean and the United States and other border countries with Canada have been alerted about the interest which the law enforcement agencies in Canada have in the now fugitive Dwidth Ferguson.
The Canadian lawman went on to state that 100 or more officers tasked with conducting the investigation succeeded by “being there when (the suspects) let their guard down.”
“This industry of dealing drugs and firearms is really based on greed. Sometimes these folks are so greedy and think they’re so good at their game, but we’ll be there when they’re not,” he said.
