A $3.5-million, 5,000-square-foot home on the Niagara Parkway in Niagara-on-the-Lake has been “placed under criminal restraint” as part of a massive seizure of methamphetamine and cocaine unveiled in Alberta last week.
More than $55 million in meth and cocaine was seized and $7 million worth of assets, including luxury homes and high-end SUVs and sports cars were confiscated or placed under criminal restraint, police said.
The NOTL home, at 14757 Niagara Parkway, near Line 7 Road near Queenston, is owned by Ricco King, of Bedford, N.S.
Investigators allege that “Mr. King was the top figure in this criminal organization,” Alberta police spokesperson Michael Tucker told The Lake Report.
“When a home is placed under criminal restraint it means that they cannot sell or make major changes to the property,” Tucker said. “Essentially, it’s frozen.”
This past weekend private vehicles were seen parked in the large driveway and it appeared people were inside the home.
Real estate records show that King bought the 1.13-acre riverside property for $3.575 million in August 2020. It had been listed at $3.75 million, the records show.
The sales listing says the “stunning” five-bedroom home, with a gourmet kitchen, sits “on one of the most private lots on the banks of the Niagara River.”
With five bedrooms, it “boasts a grand foyer and stairway at the main entrance  that leads to a  formal dining room and living room,” the  listing says.
There is a granny flat over the three-car garage, a large covered patio and  barbecue area,  and a saltwater pool overlooking the  river.
Nicknamed Project Cobra, the cross-country and cross-border investigation was conducted by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), RCMP organized crime investigators and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“As the result of enforcement initiatives on both sides of the border, 928 kilograms of methamphetamine and six kilograms of cocaine were intercepted,” investigators said last week in a news release.
Police said Project Cobra was a nearly three-year organized crime investigation into transnational drug importation, drug trafficking and money laundering.
Fifteen people and one business were charged with 80 criminal offences ranging from participation in a criminal organization, to importation of a controlled substance, to laundering proceeds of crime, to drug trafficking.
Nineteen firearms also were seized, including handguns, rifles, submachine-guns and suppressors.
Among the $7 million worth of property, bank accounts, luxury vehicles and other suspected proceeds of crime seized or placed under criminal restraint were  two Lamborghinis, a Porsche, classic cars and $200,000 in cash.
