Police swoop down on Driftwood Crips

Hundreds of charges laid in cross- Ontario raids on gang

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders says that communities affected by an alleged street gang have an opportunity to grow stronger after a series of raids targeted the Driftwood Crips early Thursday morning across Ontario.

More than 660 charges were laid and 120 people accused of offences related to the alleged criminal organization in what Saunders called a “co-ordinated effort” between 20 police services.

Due to the large territory in which the alleged gang is suspected of operating, police forces from across Ontario were involved in the raids, including more than 800 police officers.

The charges include attempted murder, trafficking of firearms and drugs and kidnapping conspiracies.

“We are all safer as a result,” Saunders said.

Toronto police allege that the Drift- wood Crips, which has been the subject of an investigation called Project Kronic since last May, operate a number of cells throughout Ontario and western Canada with a “clear command structure.”

Some of the gang’s leaders are suspected of being in operation while in prison.

The investigation resulted in a “significant seizure” of firearms and illegal narcotics.

While the Driftwood Crips once operated in only a small area in Toronto, Saunders reported that Project Kronic has shown that the organization has grown.

“I think we’ve made a very significant dent,” in arresting the alleged gang’s major players, Saunders said.

The police chief did not specify whether it was the police force’s opinion that members of the Driftwood Crips have been partly responsible for the increase in Toronto gun violence in recent years.

“I will say that the shootings that occur in the city of Toronto — the vast majority of the street shootings in the city of Toronto — have a street gang overtone to it,” he said.