ALERT Project Cerberus
ALERT dismantles cross-border drug ring in one of Alberta’s largest seizures
CALGARY — Alberta’s organized crime unit has dismantled a cross-border drug trafficking network in what officials say is one of the largest drug seizures in provincial history.
The two-year investigation, dubbed Project Cerberus, was led by Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) in Calgary and concluded this month with charges against five suspects. ALERT says the network had ties to Mexican cartels and moved cocaine across the Canada–U.S. border.
Police seized 157 kilograms of cocaine, valued at more than $15 million on the street, along with 15 firearms, nearly $1 million in cash and seven vehicles equipped with hidden compartments. ALERT says the cocaine tested at 96 to 98 per cent purity.
The investigation also led to seizures in other jurisdictions. In March 2024, Manitoba RCMP stopped a vehicle carrying 61 kilograms of cocaine near Richer, Man., while U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officers found 96 kilograms in a Houston, Texas, home that October. A Canadian man arrested in that case, 35-year-old Jack Kasjaniuk of Edmonton, was sentenced last week to more than 11 years in a U.S. federal prison after pleading guilty.
Charges were laid in Calgary in July against five men: Reza Muhammad, 26, of Calgary; Jordan Plamondon, 40, of Spruce Grove; Ji Hwan Kim, 34, of Calgary; Allan Leung, 33, of Edmonton; and James Morrissette, 33, of Edmonton. They face 31 charges, including organized crime, conspiracy, drug trafficking and money laundering.
The suspects were released pending court appearances scheduled between Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, 2026.
More than 450 investigators and staff from police and government agencies in Canada and the United States took part in the probe. ALERT is funded by the Alberta government and pools provincial law enforcement resources to target serious and organized crime.
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