Manitoba investigator, National Microbiology Lab guard charged in massive organized crime drug bust

An investigator with a provincial unit has been swept up in an organized crime bust in Manitoba that resulted inmore than 20 people beingarrested andmultiple kilograms of drugs being seized.

DonavonSired,50, is charged with bribery, breach of trustand conspiracy. He's accused of leaking information to drug dealers aboutpolice enforcement plans.

He was a member of the special investigations unit for Manitoba Finance, which typically investigatescigarette smuggling. A source in the province's Justice department says he is now on an unpaid leave of absence.

Project Dawgpound, as the investigation wasnamed by police, started in May 2022 and grewin leaps and bounds, with its scope reaching across the country, saidInsp. Grant Stephen, officer in charge of organized crime for Manitoba RCMP.

"Once we saw the totality of what we were looking at, we initiated a full-scale project with a primary target whom we aimed to disrupt."

That target was 36-year-old Hue Ha of Winnipeg, who is accused by RCMP of orchestrating the import of large amounts of cocaine from Ontario.

Police allege Ha or a designate went to Ontarioto pick up drugs and unstamped cigarettes and bring them back to Manitoba. They were distributed to communities throughout the province, including Winnipeg, Brandon, Poplar River, St. Laurent, Ashern, Fairfordand Gypsumville, police said.

The operation also reached well beyond the province, goinginto Vancouver, Calgary,Pickering, Ont., Toronto, Moncton, N.B., and Prince Edward Island, police said.

At some point, though, it became apparent that Ha had information about enforcement plans, RCMP said. That leak was tracked to an inside sourceat Manitoba Finance and further narrowed down to Sired, police allege.

"I'm sure that law enforcement would say when they begin investigations, they don't always know where it'll lead, and sometimes it leads to unexpected places," Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzensaid.

"But it is important that law enforcement follow the evidence and take action even if it leads to places that are unexpected or, perhaps, disappointing."

He expects Manitoba Finance will conduct its own internal investigation into how the leaks happened.

"Individuals can be lured into this type of activity for a lot of different reasons but they're not above or immune to the law,"Goertzen said.

"Regardless of who you are, or where you work, if you are helping individuals in any way in the distribution or manufacture of drugs, there are consequences."

Ha faces numerous charges, from conspiracy to trafficking, and 20othersfromManitoba and Ontario face a variety of charges.

The accused include a Corps of Commissionaires guard at theCanadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, the Winnipeg lab complex that includes theNational Microbiology Laboratory.RCMP saythe guard metwith Ha or others in the criminal organization while on lab property, then stored and trafficked drugs while at work.

"The charges laid are concerningand we are calling for an immediate internal investigation into the events that occurred on the grounds of the National Microbiology Laboratory,"aspokesperson for the federal minister of health wrote in an emailed statement to CBC News.

"We have also directed our officials to review internal security procedures."

The Public Health Agency of Canada said the guard was let go in January and had limited access to the lab.

"At no time did they have access to sensitive materials," a PHAC spokesperson said in a statement.

"We are reviewing our security operations and working with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires to strengthen our partnership to ensure security at our facilities."

The Public Health Agency saidit is co-operating with investigators.

In total, Project Dawgpound investigators seized:

• 7.8kilograms of cocaine.
• 327tablets of MDMA (ecstasy).
• 13.82kilograms of crystal MDMA(molly).
• 116grams of purple down (a mixture of fentanyl, carfentaniland often, heroin).
• 139.45grams of carfentanil.
• 2.06kilograms of crystal meth.
• Five kilograms of psilocybin (magic mushrooms).

The project removedmore than $2.5 millionin drugs from circulation, police say.

"The drugs, guns and proceeds of crime that RCMP officers were able to get off the street through this project is significant and will create a large disruption to the drug networks in this province," saidRob Hill, commanding officerof the Manitoba RCMP.

Investigators also seized prescription pills, cannabis, hash,shatter (cannabis concentrate), four vehicles, electronic devices, drug trafficking paraphernaliaand gang-related patches for the Crazy Indians.

Two handguns, seven semi-automatic rifles, seven shotguns,two rifles and one 3D printed firearm were seized.

The contraband cigarette portion of the operation was worth$1.47million in tax revenue, RCMP said.

Arrests warrants remain outstanding for two more people,Stephen said.