TORONTO – Police have charged 73 people and seized large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl and firearms after a months-long investigation into an alleged criminal network that operated across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
In a news conference Friday morning, officers displayed some of the 23 firearms they seized during the investigation, dubbed “Project Kraken,” which aimed to take down an alleged criminal organization known as the Chester Lee gang.
Officers said they seized more than $350,000 worth of drugs, including more than a kilogram each of cocaine and fentanyl, along with $92,000 in cash and $84,000 worth of weapons.
Toronto police Deputy Chief Jim Ramer said nearly 600 charges have been laid against suspects from various jurisdictions across the GTA, with the help of a dozen different departments.
Ramer said the gang, with roots in Toronto’s east end, is suspected to have been involved in numerous violent incidents in recent years, including an armed robbery where a tow truck smashed its way into a jewelry store.
He also alleged that the gang’s drug business extended as far away as Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Peterborough, Ont.
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