Project Sidewinder (officially Project Ricewater: Chinese Intelligence Services and Triads Financial Links in Canada; sometimes called Operation Sidewinder) is a declassified study conducted by a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) joint task force.
Dubbed the Unholy Trinity by the U.S. Department of Justice in a later named collaboration between 5 US agencies including the FBI, DEA, DIA, NSIA and CIA.
Dubbed Dragon Lord, a summary of the report was uncovered by former military intelligence analyst Scott McGregor and Documentary Journalist Ina Mitchell and published in their book The Mosaic Effect in October 2023.
[7] Fadden downplayed the seriousness of his allegations the following week, days ahead of the arrival of China's Premiere for the G20 Summit in Canada.
[8] Researchers cite the report as a long line of evidence showing the influence operations of the United Front in Canada.
[14] A second volume of the report would later show a large share of the funds were the proceeds from fentanyl sales, and were subsequently “layered” into home purchases after being initially washed in the casinos.
[17] In 2021, Wilful Blindness by Sam Cooper was published, covering how the allegations in Sidewinder evolved into larger scale operations.