The Police

GANG POSED 'THE GREATEST THREAT'

Nearly 700 Officers Carry Out Pre-Dawn Raids, Arresting More Than 80
And Seizing Huge Drug Stash

A series of pre-dawn raids and dozens of arrests yesterday stemmed
from an 11-month police operationthat has seized vast amounts of guns
and drugs from Toronto streets.

Officers from as far as Belleville, Barrie and Kingston teamed up
with Toronto police to carry out 134 search warrants, mostly around
Jane and Finch, rounding up more than 80 people allegedly involved
with the area's infamous Driftwood Crips.

"Today we have one less street gang terrorizing neighbourhoods in the
city of Toronto," police Chief Bill Blair said.

Project Kryptic was carried out by nearly 700 officers. Warrants were
carried out across Toronto, Barrie, Peel, York, Durham and Niagara
regions, Blair said.

While the Driftwood Crips is just one of "20 to 25 gangs we'd
categorize as criminal groups" in Toronto, "this was the gang that
represented the greatest threat to the greatest number of people,"
Blair said. "We believe they are associated to many violent crimes
that have taken place in that neighbourhood."

Police seized dozens of firearms and other weapons. Also grabbed were
more than 30 kilos of cocaine, 9 kilos of hash oil and "several
pounds" of marijuana. The street value of the drugs is "well in
excess of $1 million," Blair said.

"The trafficking of illicit drugs is the primary source of income for
this criminal enterprise ... We hope (this) will deal a significant
blow to the source of misery in so many of our most vulnerable neighbourhoods."

There were 82 search warrants executed at homes throughout the GTA
alone and an additional 45 carried out on vehicles associated with
alleged gang members, Blair said.

The reach of the raids shows how far the influence of the Driftwood
Crips extends beyond their Jane-and-Finch epicentre, he said.

Police claim the suspects imported a "substantial amount of drugs"
into Toronto. Among those arrested were six employees at Pearson
International Airport who worked in the cargo area and ramp system,
said Supt. Robert Davis of the RCMP airport squad.

"We're talking about six employees ... who were facilitating,
assisting, helping the Crips to commit criminal offences," Davis said.

The arrests of the employees, who are said to be "more associated to
them, as opposed to direct members" of the Crips, "should make a
significant dent in the criminal activity there."

Stockwell Day, federal minister of public safety, issued a statement
saying the 30 kilos of cocaine was being "imported in a piece of
checked baggage" at the airport, making it "the largest seizure,
involving a drug courier, in the history of Canada's busiest airport."

Police wouldn't discuss the particulars of the seizure, but Davis
said the employees were not arrested at the airport.

Yesterday's raids followed four similar operations aimed at
dismantling Toronto gangs: Project Impact targeted the Malvern Crew
and Project Pathfinder dismantled the Galloway Boys, both in 2004;
Project Flicker went after the Ardwick Blood Crew in 2005; and
Project XXX took aim at the Jamestown Crew last year.

The weaponry and drug trafficking, as well as the "level of
intimidation," were very similar to what police saw in Jamestown, Blair said.

This is the first raid of its kind launched by the guns and gangs
task force, which includes both local police and OPP. Police hope the
action will encourage residents to come forward with information,
leading to more arrests.

"The community is fearful of threats, the firing off of guns in the
neighbourhood, the shootings that are going on, the robberies that
are taking place -- they know not to deal with or mess with the
Driftwood Crips," said Insp. Mike Earl, head of the guns and gangs task force.

"It helps the killers, it helps the criminals, it helps the drug
dealers when people are afraid and silenced," Blair said. "Our work .
will not be done unless and until all of the violence that is
inflicted upon our most vulnerable neighbourhoods and our youth comes
to an end." Mayor David Miller praised Blair's work. "People who live
in these neighbourhoods who often don't have a lot of money deserve
to be safe too," Miller said from Montreal. "What we have to do now
is redouble our efforts to invest in these communities to ensure that
no more young people get drawn into the gangs."

Police presence in the Jane and Finch area will be heightened for
coming weeks to monitor the "predators waiting in the wings to step
in and try to take advantage of what's going on there," Blair said.

With files from Donovan Vincent, Robert Benzie, Tim Lai and Sean Gordon