GTA raids deal gang a ‘significant blow’
Police chief confident Chester Le hierarchy has been hit hard
A “significant blow” has been dealt to a “dangerous street gang ” following an eightmonth investigation that led to dozens of arrests across the GTA on Thursday, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders said.
Dubbed “Project Kraken,” the investigation targeted members of the Chester Le gang, an organization Saunders said had roots in the Victoria Park Ave. and Finch Ave. E. area.
But the criminal activities extended throughout the country.
They included illegal firearm offences, robberies and trafficking in illicit narcotics, specifically fentanyl, an opioid “100 times more potent than heroin,” Saunders pointed out at a news conference.
Officers executed warrants in Toronto and Hamilton, as well as York, Halton, Durham and Peel regions, and arrested 37 people Thursday morning.
Police said 43 others were arrested earlier in the investigation.
A quantity of drugs and 23 firearms were also seized.
“Our investigators are confident that this project has effectively disrupted and dealt a significant blow to the hierarchy and the operations of this gang,” Saunders said.
“These are people that are killing people.”
The gang’s focus on fentanyl was a particular concern to police, Saunders added.
“The quality of life that it reduces in any community is tremendously egregious,” Saunders said.
The past two years have seen a significant spike in the number
of opioid-related deaths across the country.
Opioids claimed the lives of more than 11,500 people between January 2016 and December 2018, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported earlier this month.
Contamination of the drug supply was a major factor in the deaths, the agency said.
Last year, Ontario registered 1,022 overdose deaths related to opioids, down slightly from more than 1,200 recorded the year before.
The Ontario Drug Policy Research Network cites fentanyl as the primary agent involved in most fatal overdoses.
Saunders said in addition to fentanyl trafficking, the organization was involved in numerous shootings. The police chief did not provide examples.
Toronto police received support from other municipal, provincial and national police resources, Saunders added.
Saunders declined to offer many details as the investigation is continuing. Police are expected to hold another news conference Friday morning to provide further information.
This information will include details on the quantity of drugs seized, Saunders said.