York regional police say a group responsible for producing and selling deadly synthetic drugs across the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario funded their network by exploiting Health Canada’s medical marijuana program.

On Thursday, police announced a slew of arrests and showed off a mountain of illegal drugs seized during two separate investigations, Project Moon and Project Zen.

Project Moon

In Project Moon — a year-long joint forces operations — investigators determined that a large-scale synthetic drug network was being funded primarily through the exploitation of the legal medical marijuana program.

“This entire synthetic drug network was primarily funded through the illicit cultivation and sale of cannabis,” said Mike Slack, superintendent of Organized Crime and Intelligence for York Regional Police.

“The criminals associated to this project expertly abused the Health Canada medical licensing system. This included everything from fraudulently obtaining licences, illegally leasing licences and pooling licences.”

Slack alleges the group sold all of the marijuana on the black market, using the proceeds to process and sell drugs like methamphetamine and MDMA.

“Each day hundreds of pounds of cannabis were being supplied to the illicit market,” he said. “None of it was going to legitimate licence holders. Instead it was financing the synthetic drug trade …”

WATCH: Concerns raised about lack of enforcement, potential gaps in Health Canada’s system

Slack added that the group has ties to street gangs like the Parkdale Crips, who he alleges were co-conspirators and drug-runners for the operation.

The probe resulted in the seizure of more than 20,000 illegally grown cannabis plants, more than 560 kilograms of dried cannabis, 23 kilograms of methamphetamine, 15,300 MDMA pills, nine pounds of mushrooms, 400 Viagra pills, $220,000 in currency, and four firearms including a Tech 9 machine gun with a silencer.

Forty-two people face a total of 118 criminal charges.

Det. Sgt. Doug Bedford, with York police’s Guns Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit, said Project Moon highlights how organized crime can worm its way into legitimate enterprises.

“Project Moon demonstrates how organized crime groups have infiltrated and exploited the legitimate medicinal cannabis regime in Canada,” Bedford said, adding that there is evidence that some of the marijuana grown was destined for the United States.

“The exploitation of the medicinal cannabis regime completely undermines current legislation and legitimate licenced producers,” he added, saying there are “gaps in the legislation” that oversees medical licences to cultivate marijuana.

Bedford said the group turned farms in rural areas in southern Ontario into “cannabis factories” that churned out staggering amounts of marijuana and hash destined for the black market. Seven thousand plants were seized from one farm in Leamington.

“When a commodity of value is not properly regulated or enforced it provides an opportunity for organized crime to infiltrate or exploit,” he said.

Project Zen

In a separate investigation, York police said they’ve dismantled a drug ring operating out of Vaughan that was moving large amounts of the deadly opioid fentanyl.

Project Zen began in early 2019 and culminated with a series of search warrants that police say resulted in the largest seizure of more than five kilograms of fentanyl — the largest ever seizure of the deadly opioid yet in York Region.

Police also seized five semi-automatic handguns, over $270,000 in cash, 19 kilograms of cocaine, 16.5 kilograms of methamphetamine pills, and more than 56 kilograms of cannabis.

Eight people face a variety of charges.

Slack said drug dealers are increasingly mixing fentanyl into other drugs as a way to boost profit. Unintentional cross-contamination can also take place.

“When mixed with out synthetic drugs you cannot smell it, you cannot taste it, and you cannot see it but it has a terrible and deadly effect,” he said, noting a startling increase if fentanyl overdoses in York Region over the last year.

Watch York police’s full announcement below.