'UNPRECEDENTED' RAIDS JOLT CITY

125 Arrested

Police have arrested 125 people, including the alleged leaders of a
"sophisticated" criminal enterprise that supplied drugs and guns to
street gangs, after pre-dawn raids throughout the Greater Toronto Area
yesterday.

"This is an operation of unprecedented scale," Toronto Police Chief
Bill Blair told reporters.

"Nearly 1,000 officers from right across Ontario were involved in the
execution of those warrants today."

The suspects and their neighbours were jolted awake yesterday
beginning at about 5 a. m. when tactical units busted into homes,
allegedly seizing guns and drugs. The investigation, dubbed Project
Fusion, was led by the Anti-Guns and Gangs Task Force, which brings
together a team of Crown attorneys and police.

Chief Blair said police focused on two street gangs: MNE (named after
the Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue East area) and the "400 Crew"
(which takes its name from 400 McCowan Rd.) They also arrested
individuals involved in an "over-arching criminal enterprise," Chief
Blair said.

"[The enterprise] exercised a great deal of influence and control over
street gangs and supplied drugs and guns to them," he said. "They
don't have a name but they have been extremely well organized and they
are sophisticated in their operation."

Officers seized 40 firearms and drugs including 43 pounds of cocaine
and more than 30,000 tablets of Ecstasy.

Four of the guns seized were stolen from a legal handgun owner a few
months ago, Chief Blair said. Most of the firearms had been smuggled
from U. S. states including Georgia, Michigan and Texas.

The investigation began last year. In May, Durham Regional Police were
probing a shooting near Brock Road and Bayly Street in Ajax. Officers
say that they were drawn to activities at the Supreme Auto Group shop
at that corner and discovered that Toronto's Guns and Gangs Task Force
was also investigating the premises.

It was identified as a "significant distribution point for firearms
and controlled substances," Chief Blair said.

Project Fusion is the latest in a series of major police operations
targeting alleged gang activity in the city. Defence lawyer Daniel
Brown suggested that police often arrest more people than necessary
during these types of operations.

"They cast this huge net on the entire community. Slowly but surely
they cut [certain people] loose but not before they have been
tarnished with a reputation that they are a gang member," said Mr.
Brown, who has represented several individuals arrested during
high-profile raids.

"The reality is this overwhelms an already overwhelmed system. It
creates a huge amount of delay in the Toronto courts."

Chief Blair told a press conference yesterday: "We're not trying to
clog up the courts. We're not trying to clog up the detention
facilities. What we are trying to do is hold people accountable for
their conduct ... but also to protect our communities."

He acknowledged that those charged yesterday with lesser offences
would soon be released on bail. "It is our intention to seek only the
detention of persons who we believe represent a significant threat to
the security of our communities or a flight risk."

Toronto defence lawyer John Struthers has also represented defendants
in the street gang probes in Toronto and is skeptical that they
successfully result in the prosecution of high-level criminals.

"There will be young people standing in line to replace those arrested
today. Kicking in 100 doors isn't going to mean more people will come
forward on the next homicide," he said.

Yesterday, individuals were cleaning up the aftermath of the raids.
One woman who did not want to be named led reporters around her sixth
floor apartment unit at 3171 Eglinton Ave. E., where clothing was
strewn everywhere.

"Look at this," she lamented. "This is how they treat the poor
people."

Tina Jaunvin said a loud bang woke her husband just before 5 a. m.
"That turned out to be the battering ram on the house next door," she
said.

The family watched as many as 10 armed officers search the neighbour's
bungalow for hours. They removed bags and boxes and arrested a
teenaged resident.

"It was scary but it [felt] safe because you know there's a lot of
police around," said Mrs. Jaunvin who has lived on Sedgemount Road, in
the Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue area, for 22 years.

"This is a quiet neighbourhood. I've never had any bad experiences
with [the people] next door."

[sidebar]

PROJECT FUSION, BY THE NUMBERS

125 people arrested

100 homes raided

61 vehicles searched

1,000 officers involved

38 police tactical units involved

34 handguns seized

2 loaded AK-47s seized

1 MAC-11 machine pistol seized

1 sawed-off shotgun seized

2 rifles seized

43 pounds of cocaine seized

65 pounds of pot seized

30,000 tablets of Ecstasy seized

$431,000 in criminal proceeds seized

12 motor vehicles seized