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Peel Regional Police announced the arrest of several people they allege were involved in violent armed carjackings and trafficking of stolen high-end vehicles outside of Canada as part of a months-long investigation.
Chief Nishan Duraiappah said Monday that Project Stratis resulted in the arrest of six individuals and 30 charges laid.
He said eight stolen vehicles were also seized, estimated at a value of $800,000.
“Project Stratis … is named after simply the fact that there’s multiple levels of stratis, there’s different levels that have been exposed that started just with response to the series of violent carjackings,” Duraiappah said.
Duraiappah added that the suspected violent offenders are “not new to us.”
During Monday’s news conference, Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said the people arrested and charged have “significant histories” involving violence, property crime, vehicle theft, dangerous operation and failure to comply offences.
“This investigation was into a group of organized criminals who would orchestrate carjackings, drag people out of their vehicles, take their cars and then organize to have them exported out of our country,” Milinovich said. “This is why it becomes so incredibly important that the local police response is coupled by our provincial and federal partners if we’re going to make a difference.”
Four of the individuals charged are from Toronto, with two from surrounding communities. Three of the suspects are in their 30s, and the other three are in their 20s.
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Three face charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence of robbery, and laundering the proceeds of crime. All six individuals face a charge of possession of property obtained by crime.
According to police, officers received reports between Jan. 18 and Feb. 1 of several violent, armed carjackings across Peel Region and throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The suspects appeared to target high-end vehicles, primarily various models of Mercedes-Benz.
Through their investigation, police determined the suspects not only carried out the robberies but also arranged for the stolen vehicles to be re-vinned and then resold or shipped to Ghana.
Alongside Toronto police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Canada Border Services Agency, officers conducted several search warrants, leading to eight vehicles being recovered and two replica firearms seized. The stolen vehicles were found in storage lockers, an auto body shop and sea containers.
Det. Jeff Chamula said locating the auto body shop in Toronto proved a “critical” piece of the probe. He said police found a Mercedes-Benz on Jan. 30 that had been stolen on Jan. 18. He said the vehicle had already been re-vinned and was scheduled to be shipped to Ghana on Jan. 31.
Chamula said that from Jan. 18 to Feb. 1, a total of four armed robberies occurred in Mississauga and Toronto.
“Each incident involved victims being approached in parking lots by two armed culprits who demanded their vehicle keys. The suspects fled in a combination of vehicles,” Chamula said.
He said a stolen white pickup truck was used in the first two robberies, and a stolen Honda Civic was used in the latter two. He added that in the final incident on Feb. 1, the suspects were unable to steal the vehicle due to its security features and fled the scene.
One of the suspects, Chamula said, was arrested on Jan. 31, when he was found operating the pickup truck used in the first two carjackings.
Two more suspects were arrested on Feb. 10 in Brampton, and a fourth on Feb. 27.
The final two suspects were arrested at Toronto Pearson International Airport while trying to board a flight to Ghana on March 3, after police received information from the CBSA.
Police are asking anyone with further information about the investigation to contact their central robbery bureau at 905-453-2121 extension 1233, or call Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
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