Police carried out dozens of raids across Ontario on Tuesday morning, arresting 60 alleged gang members, as part of a massive crackdown on organized crime.
Police executed 67 search warrants simultaneously in Toronto, London, Hamilton, Windsor, Ottawa and other jurisdictions for offences including criminal organization, attempted murder, firearms and drug trafficking and prostitution.
More than 900 police officers, including 400 tactical officers, were involved in executing the warrants in the operation, known as Project Marvel.
Police said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon that among the 60 arrested, 10 were young offenders.
Supt. Chris White from the Toronto Police organized crime unit said that two gangs, Young Buck Killas and G Siders, were the focus of the investigation.
"It quickly became evident that they were much more organized and it branched out from there," he said.
White said that more than 300 charges are expected to be laid outside of Ontario.
Search warrants were also executed in other provinces, including Alberta and British Columbia.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said that the investigation spread well beyond the borders of Toronto and the rest of the province.
"It revealed a level of mobility among street gangs that we had not previously witnessed in this city," he said.
In all, more than 20 police services across Canada took part in the morning raids.
The Project Marvel investigation, a joint-task force made up of the Toronto Police Service Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, London and Waterloo police and the Ontario Provincial Police, began in May 2011. The investigation quickly spread to other jurisdictions across Canada.
The investigation is ongoing.
