Retooling the war on gangs and guns

Retooling the war on gangs and guns
125 suspects arrested in latest operation, but police vow to focus on worst offenders
April 02, 2009
BETSY POWELL
AND MICHELE HENRY
STAFF REPORTERS

It is almost a springtime ritual.

Hundreds of police officers from various forces fan out in pre-drawn raids across Greater Toronto and beyond to execute search warrants, arrest scores of people and lay dozens of drugs, weapons and gangsterism charges after a massive investigation that has a catchy name – in this case, Project Fusion.

A news conference follows with pronouncements made about the fruits of the law enforcement project, including the 40 guns seized yesterday, which police said will deal a "significant blow" to the firearm supply in east Toronto and make the streets safer.

As well, millions of dollars' worth of illicit narcotics, including cocaine and marijuana and ecstasy, were seized during several months of investigation, not just yesterday.

The Toronto Police Service says this time it is trying to do some things differently in its latest salvo in the war on guns and gangs.

Police Chief Bill Blair said that as the accused move through the courts a more streamlined process is planned aimed at avoiding some of the problems of previous projects that have targeted street gangs.

"The people who we arrested ... some of them are charged with less serious criminal offences so some of those people have been released or will be released over the next few days. Our intent is to ensure the detention of those people who pose a risk," Blair told a news conference at police headquarters.

In June 2007, Superior Court Judge Ian Nordheimer blasted the Crown for delays in bail hearings for nine accused street gang members caught in the Project Kryptic sweep. To show his disapproval of the delays, Nordheimer ordered the Crown to pay each of the defendants' court costs of $2,000.

Blair would not specify how many of those busted yesterday "pose a risk," but said 46 of the 125 people arrested are alleged to be members and associates of two gangs in southeast Toronto – the MNE, named for the geographic area of Markham Rd. and Eglinton Ave. E., and 400 Crew, named for the Toronto Community Housing buildings at 400 McCowan Rd.

In addition, police arrested others belonging to an "overarching criminal enterprise that supplies weapons and drugs to the street gangs." Blair said that group does not have a name but "they have been extremely well organized and sophisticated in their operation."

Police did not release any names of the people arrested yesterday.

One of the sharpest criticisms of previous projects has been that police arrest too many people and lay too many charges, many of them not serious, putting additional strain on an already overburdened court system.

Critics have also condemned such projects for being essentially public relations exercises that generate a lot of media attention because of the sheer numbers of charges laid.

"Usually these types of cases start with the police boasting about countless arrests only to see the numbers scale down drastically in the days and months leading up to trial," defence lawyer Daniel Brown said yesterday.

Yesterday's sweep did not zero in on a particular place or neighbourhood, unlike previous projects such as Kryptic, which was aimed at dismantling the Driftwood Crips in the Jane and Finch community, or Project Flicker, which targeted the Ardwick Bloods in the Islington and Finch area.

Project Fusion dovetailed two separate investigations by Toronto and Durham Region police that had, as a common "focal point," a place called Supreme Auto Group, which was identified as a "significant distribution point for firearms and for controlled substances," said Durham Regional Police Supt. Jim Douglas, who also attended the news conference.

Other police leaders in attendance acknowledged this project will not end the existence of street gangs and the associated violence.

'Unprecedented' raids jolt city

'Unprecedented' raids jolt city
125 Arrested

Melissa Leong, National Post; With files from Shannon Kari, National Post and Global News

Police have arrested 125 people, including the alleged leaders of a "sophisticated" criminal enterprise that supplied drugs and guns to street gangs, after pre-dawn raids throughout the Greater Toronto Area yesterday.

"This is an operation of unprecedented scale," Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told reporters.

"Nearly 1,000 officers from right across Ontario were involved in the execution of those warrants today."

The suspects and their neighbours were jolted awake yesterday beginning at about 5 a. m. when tactical units busted into homes, allegedly seizing guns and drugs. The investigation, dubbed Project Fusion, was led by the Anti-Guns and Gangs Task Force, which brings together a team of Crown attorneys and police.

Chief Blair said police focused on two street gangs: MNE (named after the Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue East area) and the "400 Crew" (which takes its name from 400 McCowan Rd.) They also arrested individuals involved in an "over-arching criminal enterprise," Chief Blair said.

"[The enterprise] exercised a great deal of influence and control over street gangs and supplied drugs and guns to them," he said. "They don't have a name but they have been extremely well organized and they are sophisticated in their operation."

Officers seized 40 firearms and drugs including 43 pounds of cocaine and more than 30,000 tablets of Ecstasy.

Four of the guns seized were stolen from a legal handgun owner a few months ago, Chief Blair said. Most of the firearms had been smuggled from U. S. states including Georgia, Michigan and Texas.

The investigation began last year. In May, Durham Regional Police were probing a shooting near Brock Road and Bayly Street in Ajax. Officers say that they were drawn to activities at the Supreme Auto Group shop at that corner and discovered that Toronto's Guns and Gangs Task Force was also investigating the premises.

It was identified as a "significant distribution point for firearms and controlled substances," Chief Blair said.

Project Fusion is the latest in a series of major police operations targeting alleged gang activity in the city. Defence lawyer Daniel Brown suggested that police often arrest more people than necessary during these types of operations.

"They cast this huge net on the entire community. Slowly but surely they cut [certain people] loose but not before they have been tarnished with a reputation that they are a gang member," said Mr. Brown, who has represented several individuals arrested during high-profile raids.

"The reality is this overwhelms an already overwhelmed system. It creates a huge amount of delay in the Toronto courts."

Chief Blair told a press conference yesterday: "We're not trying to clog up the courts. We're not trying to clog up the detention facilities. What we are trying to do is hold people accountable for their conduct ... but also to protect our communities."

He acknowledged that those charged yesterday with lesser offences would soon be released on bail. "It is our intention to seek only the detention of persons who we believe represent a significant threat to the security of our communities or a flight risk."

Toronto defence lawyer John Struthers has also represented defendants in the street gang probes in Toronto and is skeptical that they successfully result in the prosecution of high-level criminals.

"There will be young people standing in line to replace those arrested today. Kicking in 100 doors isn't going to mean more people will come forward on the next homicide," he said.

Yesterday, individuals were cleaning up the aftermath of the raids. One woman who did not want to be named led reporters around her sixth floor apartment unit at 3171 Eglinton Ave. E., where clothing was strewn everywhere.

"Look at this," she lamented. "This is how they treat the poor people."

Tina Jaunvin said a loud bang woke her husband just before 5 a. m. "That turned out to be the battering ram on the house next door," she said.

The family watched as many as 10 armed officers search the neighbour's bungalow for hours. They removed bags and boxes and arrested a teenaged resident.

"It was scary but it [felt] safe because you know there's a lot of police around," said Mrs. Jaunvin who has lived on Sedgemount Road, in the Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue area, for 22 years.

"This is a quiet neighbourhood. I've never had any bad experiences with [the people] next door."

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PROJECT FUSION, BY THE NUMBERS

125 people arrested

100 homes raided

61 vehicles searched

1,000 officers involved

38 police tactical units involved

34 handguns seized

2 loaded AK-47s seized

1 MAC-11 machine pistol seized

1 sawed-off shotgun seized

2 rifles seized

43 pounds of cocaine seized

65 pounds of pot seized

30,000 tablets of Ecstasy seized

$431,000 in criminal proceeds seized

12 motor vehicles seized