Peel Regional Police say hundreds of charges have been laid after investigators "dismantled" a criminal organization linked to drug trafficking, homicides, and other "outrageous" acts of violence in the community.
The investigation, dubbed Project Siphon, was launched in September 2019 and centred on a group known as the "New Money So Sick" gang, which police say was responsible for running a drug delivery network out of Mississauga and Brampton.
"In addition to the trafficking of large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, this investigation has also linked the gang to some of our most outrageous incidents of violence. This includes multiple homicides, attempted homicides, human trafficking, and money laundering," Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said Wednesday.
Since the start of the investigation, Milinovich said 83 search warrants have been executed across the GTA and 88 people have been arrested in connection with the case.
Thirty-four firearms, including ones modified to be fully automatic, high-capacity magazines, were seized in the probe, along with nearly $2 million in street drugs and more than $1 million in Canadian currency, police say.
More than 800 charges are expected to be laid in Project Siphon, Milinovich said.
"This organization has been linked to some of the most thoughtless violence our community has suffered for the last several years," Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said at Wednesday's news conference.
"This project has included multiple homicides where bullets flew with shocking disregard for anyone, including innocent children who have been caught in the crossfire."
One of the homicides that has been traced back to the gang, police say, is the death of Jonathan Davis, a 17-year-old boy who was struck by gunfire after a group of suspects sprayed more than 100 rounds into a parkette packed with children behind a Malton apartment building on the evening of Sept. 14, 2019.
Police say that evening, a rival gang of "New Money So Sick" was congregated at the back of the building, located on Darcel Avenue, and investigators previously confirmed that the group was shooting a rap video.
"Two vehicles drove into the apartment complex and seven suspects exited the vehicles armed with firearms. The suspects opened fire," Supt. Martin Ottaway told reporters.
Six people were struck by bullets and Davis was fatally wounded.
"Jonathan was not involved with any gang crime and was an innocent victim who had found himself caught in the middle of the gunfire," Ottaway said Wednesday. "We believe that New Money So Sick Gang members attended the apartment building to retaliate in an ongoing gang conflict."
Another murder linked to the gang was the fatal shooting of Giovanni Delahaye, a 28-year-old man shot to death in a car while stopped at a red light near Highway 410 and Derry Road in Mississauga in October 2019.
Ottaway said the same vehicle was used in both the fatal shooting of Delahaye and Davis.
The most recent homicide tied to the gang, Ottaway said, occurred in August of this year.
Police say the gang has now been linked to the murder of Abdifatah Salah, who was shot to death at a townhouse complex in Mississauga on Aug. 3.
"Investigation has revealed that the victim was a frequent customer of Sickspensary, which is an illegal mobile cannabis operation, operating in the region of Peel by New Money So Sick gang members," Ottaway said.
"It is the investigators' belief that the victim's association with Sickspensary was a factor in his murder."
Police say on Nov. 12, one of the leaders of the gang, identified as Mahmoud Al-Ramahi, was charged in connection with the homicide.
The charges include first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, instructing the commission of a criminal offence for a criminal organization, and commission of an offence for a criminal organization.
