Cornwall police take down drug trafficking ring with five arrests, $248K in drugs seized

(Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

CORNWALL – A five month drug trafficking investigation has concluded with the arrests of five Cornwall residents and over 100 charges laid.

The “Project Sunrise” investigation saw the Cornwall Police Service and O.P.P. search eight homes and two storage lockers in the city on Thursday last week (June 3). The homes were on Augustus Street, Paul Street, Eleventh Street East, Easton Avenue, Lennox Street and Montreal Road.

Fentanyl, regular and crystal meth and cocaine was seized, estimated to have a street value of nearly $248,000.

Officers also confiscated three firearms, ammunition, two Tasers and other “offensive” weapons.

Thirty-year-old Scott Summers, 36-year-old Steven Marsolais, 46-year-old Tracy Drew, 28-year-old Samantha Genge-Baliski and 24-year-old Rebecca Kargus are all facing drug-related charges.

Kargus was released under an undertaking and will be in court next on Aug. 10. The others are still working their way through bail court.

Chief-designate Shawna Spowart says the operation “demonstrates the successful collaborate effort to combat drug trafficking in the City of Cornwall.”

O.P.P. Chief Supt. Karl Thomas added that drug dealers “don’t stop at municipal boundaries” and both forces will work seamlessly to combat trafficking.