Toronto police are holding a news conference Thursday to show off items they seized when they raided dozens of locations as part of a sting targeting rival street gangs.
Police are also announcing a long list of charges that have been laid against 50 people who were swept up in Wednesday’s raids during Projects RX and Battery.
Most of the 53 raids took place in Toronto.
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Police arrest 50 people in pre-dawn raids targeting rival street gangs
Police previously said they seized about 10 firearms, cash, cocaine, heroin and marijuana in an investigation aimed at disrupting the activities of alleged members of the Asian Assassins and Sick Thugs.
The charges include firearm, drug and human trafficking, armed robbery and participating in a criminal organization.
Police said the arrests could lead to charges in a presently unsolved homicide that occurred in the parking lot at Yorkdale Shopping Centre last year. Michael Nguyen, who was identified by police as an Asian Assassins member, was shot execution-style as he walked to a vehicle. Investigators believe he was killed by rivals.
Toronto officers were the lead on Projects RX and Battery, and they had help from several police agencies when the pre-dawn raids were carried out.
The raids were the culmination of a long investigation that began after a series of shootings and reports about drug trafficking.
Project RX focused on the Sick Thugs, while the Asian Assassins were the subject of Project Battery.
About 30 people were arrested and 20 firearms were seized in the weeks or months before the raids.
Read more: http://www.cp24.com/news/police-to-show-off-property-seized-in-raids-1.1843236#ixzz336fLqoC5
