COVERT SQUAD TOILED FOR 2 YEARS ON CASE

For eight Toronto-area police officers hunting what is allegedly one of the
world's top drug-smuggling outfits, it was two years of long hours, secrecy,
and personal sacrifice.

Fittingly, the band of officers picked the Italian word omerta - or
conspiracy of silence - to use as the code name for the project.

And true to form, none of the eight was publicly identified at a news
conference yesterday announcing arrests of alleged major figures in the
crime outfit.

The eight-member team was formed two years ago. Its mission: Hunt down
members of the drug smuggling and money laundering network. It is now
alleged that Alfonso Caruana of Woodbridge was a major part of that network.

Yesterday the team's investigation culminated with the arrests of 14 people
as more than 200 police officers staged raids in Canada, the United States
and Mexico.

``I'm so proud of these guys,'' said RCMP Staff Sergeant Larry Tronstad, who
has been co-ordinating the team since the investigation began.

``They are a fabulous group of individuals,'' Tronstad said. ``I can't speak
highly enough about them.''

He said they were involved in countless hours of surveillance, all the while
sacrificing time with their families.

RCMP Inspector Ben Soave, head of the Toronto Integrated Intelligence Unit,
who announced the arrests at the news conference, acknowledged the eight
officers faced some personal risk.

``There's always a concern when you're dealing with top level organized crime.''

``They (the criminals) have a network and they have access to all other
criminal groups. You never know who or when . . . there is always that risk.''

Soave said members of the team had to travel to Mexico, the United States
and Italy to share intelligence information, and help co-ordinate
investigations in those countries.

He said the outfit they were hunting was so large that a single country
couldn't do it alone.

``We could not have conducted an investigation of this magnitude without the
co-operation of all agencies,'' he said, referring to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as Italian and
Mexican police.

In Canada, it was the combined work of the RCMP, along with York and Peel
Region forces, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Toronto police.

The eight-man team was picked from a 19-member Special Enforcement Unit.

Tronstad said the unit works best with a low profile.

``If they can stay in the shadows they will,'' he said. ``You can't
effectively work on these people if they know who you are.''

Tronstad said team members spent their time keeping key members of the
organized crime gang under observation.

One surveillance operation lasted three sleepless days, he said. ``The guys
just kept going,'' Tronstad said.

``To be able to hold the target for three days and not get burned is an
accomplishment.''

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett