AMPS, OPP & Other Agencies Conduct Criminal Code Search Warrant

By Kaniehtonkie.

AKWESASNE – Four people face various charges following a police search of a residence on International Road in Kawehnoke that took place on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.

At approximately 2:25AM the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police executed a criminal code search warrant at a private residence on International Rd, on Kawehnoke.

Just over an hour later at 3:47AM, AMPS had announced the search warrant had concluded.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service along with the Ontario Provincial Police weapons enforcement unit led the execution of the search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation. More than 40 firearms were seized from a vehicle stopped by police on Highway 401 near Prescott. The operation was assisted by OPP's Tactics and Rescue Unit and Emergency Response Team (OPP ERT) as well as officers from the Cornwall Police Service, Canada Border Services Agency, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations were also involved in the investigation.

Two people were taken into police custody at the Kawehnoke residence, a third was arrested by OPP ERT members in Cornwall and a fourth voluntarily surrendered to police. Officers seized ammunition, a laptop, and cellphones.

Charged were Jordan Lazore, 30, of Akwesasne, Amanda Poirier, 33, of Akwesasne, Brandon Laffin, 38, of Cornwall, and Jennifer O'Byrne 35, of Cornwall. Each was charged with possession for the purpose of weapons trafficking; importing a firearm knowing it is unauthorized; unauthorized importing of a firearm; and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Lazore was also charged with careless storage of a firearm, and Poirier faces an additional charge of possession of a Schedule I substance – opioid.

Lazore and Laffin were held in police custody pending bail hearings scheduled in Cornwall court on Thursday, while Poirier and O'Byrne were released from police custody to appear in Cornwall court on March 14.

In the related investigation, the OPP seized 46 firearms from two people from Ottawa during a traffic stop on Highway 401 east of Prescott on Sept. 7. Morthaza Amirdad, 31, and Kyanoush Rezaei, 31, were each charged with four weapons-related charges and subsequently released from police custody to appear in Brockville court at later dates.