Newly unsealed court documents in the Project South investigation were released to the public Wednesday, shedding more light on the explosive allegations made against several Greater Toronto Area police officers charged in the corruption probe.
The investigation, which was launched by York Regional Police in the summer of 2025, has led to the arrest of seven active Toronto police officers, two active Peel Regional Police officers, and one retired Toronto cop. More than a dozen additional people are also facing charges, which include conspiracy to commit murder, trafficking in controlled substances, bribery, and extortion.
The new details come from allegations made in recently unsealed Information-to-obtain (ITO) document, which is filed by investigators as part of a judicial process to receive search warrants, which were executed in February.
CTV News is among several media outlets that have been contesting a publication ban on the document. Superior Court Justice Laura Bird has now allowed more of the document’s contents to be released due, in part, to the “importance of public scrutiny in this case.”
Allegations in the 274-page document provide an overview of many aspects of the case, although some details remain under a court-ordered publication ban. None of the allegations from the ITO have been tested in court.
Here is a look at some of the new details from the document.
Officer at centre of probe was not previously ‘under suspicion’
In her reasons for decision unsealing more of the documents, Bird noted that one of the “most concerning” things about the allegations of widespread police corruption is that officers “only stumbled upon it” while investigating a plot to murder a correctional officer.
The judge wrote that the investigation began after a gunman showed up at the home of a senior correctional officer employed at the Toronto South Detention Centre on June 18, 2025.
While the correctional officer was not home at the time, their grandfather was confronted by the gunman before they fled.
“It is believed that a hit had been taken out on the correctional officer as a result of their perceived treatment of an inmate at Toronto South,” the judge said.
York Regional Police, who were in charge of that investigation, later learned that Const. Timonthy Barnhardt, a Toronto police officer, had previously conducted a search on the correctional officer’s licence plate shortly before the incident, Bird wrote.
“This spurred an investigation that spanned several months and involved extensive surveillance,” the judge added. “It revealed widespread criminality.”
She said there is “no evidence that anyone was suspicious” of Barnhardt or other officers connected to the case “until that moment.”
“That is something that should be of tremendous concern to the public because it demonstrates that a trusted public official can engage in widespread illegal conduct and go undetected,” she wrote.
Toronto cop allegedly leaked info from police databases
The document alleges that Barnhardt regularly leaked information from police databases to “criminal associates,” including an alleged drug trafficker named Brian Da Costa.
Barnhardt’s lawyer declined to comment on the allegations this morning when reached by The Canadian Press, while Da Costa’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Police say they identified a total of 17 instances where Barnhardt accessed the Ministry of Transportation database to conduct checks while off duty.
Some of the checks he conducted and shared with associates, police allege, involved individuals who were later the target of shootings.
In one case, according to the document, the home of a man with gambling debts to various organized crime groups was shot at days after Barnhardt conducted a search.
“Mr. Barnhardt is alleged to have been involved in a plethora of criminal activity, conducted both while off duty and while on duty, working as a police officer,” the judge wrote.
Officers accused of dealing drugs
The document also alleges that Barnhardt and other officers were involved in drug trafficking and used personal vehicles to “repeatedly commit” drug trafficking offences, including dealing cocaine to one another.
Intercepted communications, the document states, revealed ongoing discussions between Barnhardt and another constable about “acquisition, pricing, weighing, quality and redistribution of cocaine.”
In one interaction, the document alleges, the officer is heard asking Barnhardt if he “looked f**ked up” as he was about to pick up his child from daycare.
“Just put your sunglasses on,” Barnhardt allegedly replied. “You got… what do they call them… cocaine eyes.”
Illegal dispensaries and massage parlours
The document alleges that intercepted communications revealed that Barnhardt and Da Costa, along with others, conspired to “plan, finance, and operate illegal dispensaries and massage parlours,” and also arranged for “corrupt” police and bylaw officers to “provide protection in exchange for recurring monthly cash payments,” which were referred to as “envelopes.”
“These payments were intended for Barnhardt and other police and by-law officials to ensure advance notice of inspections and search warrants, suppression of enforcement actions, and harassment of competing illicit businesses,” the ITO read.
With files from the Canadian Press
