Police arrested 18 people during a series of raids across the GTA Tuesday morning in connection to an illegal gambling ring busted last month.
The arrests are connected to a Super Bowl party broken up in Markham, Ont. last month following a two-year investigation into the sports-betting enterprise Platinum SB. Six people were previously arrested during the Feb. 4 raid.
On Tuesday morning, the RCMP carried out another series of coordinated raids across southern Ontario that saw 18 arrests made and $5.5 million in cash seized.
Two of the people arrested Tuesday morning were among the six people originally arrested during the Super Bowl party, police said during a press conference. They were re-arrested for failing to comply with the condition of their release.
All 18 will face a number of charges, though police aren’t releasing their names until Wednesday.
In addition to the cash, police said two handguns, a taser, multiple computers, cellphones, ledgers, betting lists and bank statements were also seized by officers, along with four vehicles -- a Land Rover, a Porsche, a Cadillac and a pick-up truck.
Four warrants for arrests were also issued Tuesday and will be executed as the investigation continues.
Officers at Tuesday’s press conference said the arrests targeted the “management team” of an elaborate illegal-gambling operation.
RCMP Acting Supt. Keith Finn said the arrests comprised a “significant phase of the investigation.”
“We believe that having these individuals under arrest and out of circulation means that the effects that the illegal gambling enterprise and the extortion that goes along with that will be significantly disrupted,” Finn said.
“I believe that the communities and the people that were deeply affected by this are safer today.”
Last month, an estimated 2,300 football fans were interrupted during the second quarter of the Super Bowl as police raided Le Parc Banquet and Concert centre. Six people were arrested there. That same night police executed nine other search warrants at homes and businesses throughout the GTA.
York Regional Police said high-ranking members of organized crime groups were the target of the Feb. 3 raid.
Almost $2.5 million dollars was seized from Le Parc, along with 20 computers, cell phones, business records and a large safe.
The Platinum SB website was shut down the same night.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Tamara Cherry
