The Winnipeg Police Service announced on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, the largest illicit drug seizure in Manitoba history.
The announcement followed a two-year interprovincial investigation dubbed Project Puma.
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Law enforcement officials arrested 33 individuals and laid 174 charges.
Charges include drug trafficking, proceeds of crime, and conspiracy after dismantling multiple cells operating under a single umbrella organization.
The network allegedly used commercial vehicles, mail services, courier deliveries, and private vehicles with hidden compartments.
They transported narcotics from the United States through Alberta and Ontario into Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.
Police records show investigators seized over $37.2 million worth of illicit drugs.
This includes 339 kilograms of methamphetamine, 175 kilograms of cocaine, and 11.25 kilograms of fentanyl.
Authorities also confiscated 14 firearms, approximately $825,000 in Canadian currency, and 1.35 million illegal cigarettes. The cigarettes represent an estimated provincial tax loss of $400,000.
Investigation Details
Winnipeg Police Service Inspector Joshua Key detailed the expansive scale of the criminal operation during a press conference.
"It's a lot more than what you see here," Key said.
Inspector Key described the organization as exerting significant control over illicit commodity distribution across Manitoba and other provinces.
It maintained international ties to the Hells Angels, the Wolfpack Alliance, and a Mexican cartel.
Court documents from subsequent sentencing hearings revealed that a shipping business on Henderson Highway in Winnipeg operated as a front.
It imported multi-kilogram packages of cocaine and currency through the mail from British Columbia suppliers.
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Thomas Barnecki, 45, who operated the front business with his brother, pleaded guilty last fall to offences including possessing cocaine for trafficking purposes.
He received a 10-year prison sentence.
Provincial court Judge Dale C.
Schille questioned Barnecki during the November sentencing hearing regarding his extensive history of drug trafficking convictions dating back to 2008.
"Obviously, you're aware that these sentences go up, not down," Schille said.
Judge Schille expressed surprise at Barnecki's continued involvement in high-profile organized crime.
"Kind of astounded that you would stay in this line of work; you're not exactly flying under the radar anymore," Schille told the court.
Barnecki expressed remorse before receiving his sentence, which included an additional concurrent term for illegal weapons possession and a lifetime firearms ban.
"It's time for me to stay away from those certain people in my life. … I made a stupid decision, I know that," Barnecki said.
Barnecki added that his illegal actions had caused the breakdown of his marriage and the loss of his personal assets.
"My wife left me. I lost everything," he said.
The investigation also led to the March 2026 sentencing of Clinton Netemegesic to 16 years for trafficking fentanyl.
He was arrested in Headingley, Manitoba, after receiving a hockey bag containing 60 kilograms of methamphetamine and five kilograms of fentanyl from an Edmonton courier.
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Two outstanding arrest warrants remain active for Ontario residents Randy Chao and Tyler DeFelice on conspiracy charges related to the Project Puma network.
