Twenty arrested in GTA tow truck raids
Police anticipate 30 more arrests in industry beset by organized crime
Organized crime is responsible for murder, arson, assault and widespread fraud in the GTA towing industry, York Regional Police said on Tuesday while announcing 20 arrests and the seizure of guns and illegal drugs across southern Ontario.
Scores more arrests are anticipated as police move to quell ongoing violence in the towing industry, which has been wracked by at least four slayings over the past two years.
“We should be seeing an additional 30-plus arrests or more,” Supt. Mike Slack of York Regional Police said on Tuesday, adding: “We are in the process of dismantling four distinct criminal organizations through these arrests and those to come.”
Much of the violence in the towing industry goes unreported, but police still had identified 150 different violent incidents when the police project began in February, Slack said.
“We allege that the competition for control of the towing market has resulted in murders, attempted murders, shootings, assaults and property damage,” Slack said.
The charges also include two arrests for first-degree murder in the killing 33-year-old tow truck driver Soheil Rafipour, who was shot outside his Richmond Hill home on Christmas Eve 2018.
Four men connected to towing in the GTA have been slain since Christmas Eve 2018.
The latest homicide possibly related to the towing wars came this month after Hashim Kinani, 23, of Toronto was found fatally shot inside a tow truck in Etobicoke on May 14.
A15-year-old and a 17-year-old have since been charged with the slaying.
York Regional police announced on Tuesday that investigators have seized 11 tow trucks, a machine-gun,16 handguns, 13 shotguns, nine rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, brass knuckles, stun guns and a silencer in a joint-forces operation called “Project Platinum.”
Police also announced the seizure of five kilograms of fentanyl, 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, 1.25 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and1.5 kilograms of cannabis.
The drugs were worth $1.2 million on the street, Slack said, adding police also seized more than $500,000 in cash.
Several of the charges announced on Tuesday deal with participating in a criminal organization.
“Organized crime does not always come in the form that we expect,” Slack said.
“It does not always have a name like ’Ndrangheta, the Mafia or street gangs,” Slack said. “Its members do not always wear colours or have organizations that are several decades old.”
“Organized crime begins with an opportunity to make money and a level of greed that leads to criminality and violence,” Slack said. “The towing industry with its lack of regulations have bred exactly that environment.”
Towing industry criminals are linked to a variety of vehiclerelated frauds, physiotherapy and car rental scams and grossly inflated repair bills at body shops, Slack said.
“They deliberately caused collisions on roadways and in parking lots,” Slack said.
Slack said that police have made recommendations to government to clean up towing industry violence. The industry is currently licensed in a patchwork fashion, with responsibility for licensing falling on municipalities. There is no standardized system of regulations across the province.
Slack said that he favours uniform, province-wide regulations and contract policing, where a company competes to win a contract with a municipality. That eliminates opportunities for police to trade favours for money.
Earlier this month, three Ottawa police officers were charged with selling information on car crashes to tow truck operators. Slack noted that the York Region investigation found no evidence of police corruption.
The investigation involved York Regional Police Organized Crime and Intelligence Services working with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Toronto Police Service and the Canada Revenue Agency in a jointforces investigation. One company named by police is Paramount Towing, owned and operated by Alexander Vinogradsky, 35, of Vaughan, who is active on Highways 400 and 404 in York Region.
Vinogradsky is charged with several criminal organization offences, including participating in a criminal organization and recruiting for a criminal organization.
Paramount Towing and rival firms are accused by police of defrauding insurance companies and working with auto repair shops and car and truck rental companies to carry out their frauds.
York Regional Police, with assistance from the OPP and Toronto Police, carried out raids on May 20 at residences and businesses in Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Hamilton, Oakville, Toronto, Aurora and East Gwillimbury.
Violence in the tow truck industry has continued, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when there are fewer drivers on the road.