Two dozen people have been arrested in Hamilton as part of a street gang investigation that began in 2019 and stretched to Toronto, Waterloo, Brantford and the Halton region, say police.

The Hamilton-based group identified itself as the "Hot Mali Squad" and is connected to drug trafficking, robberies, daytime shootings and homicides, said police in a news release Tuesday. It primarily operated between Barton Street and Main Street, and Queen Street and James Street.

"Targeting this violent street gang was crucial in addressing the surge in Hamilton shootings because this group acted at the epicentre of gun violence, fuelling fear, instability, and harm in the community," said Chief Frank Bergen.

Police launched their investigation, called Project Churchill, in 2019 after seeing a "significant rise in violent crime."

On Nov. 13, 2024, Hamilton police along with other services carried out 17 search warrants in Hamilton, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and London and charged 24 people with a total of 172 charges, police said.

Those arrested range in age from 18 to 62 years old, police said.

They face a range of charges including trafficking fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, domestic assault, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, robbery, proceeds of a crime over $5,000 and utter threats.

Three of the people arrested are wanted for crimes in the Bahamas, including attempted murder.

One person from Hamilton is still wanted for trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, police said.

Police also seized 14 firearms, 880 grams of cocaine and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl, the release said.

The group has close ties to members of the "Dirty South," a gang based in the Greater Toronto Area and a faction of "One Order" in the Bahamas, said police.

The police said their investigation found Dirty South members had smuggled and distributed illegal firearms from the U.S.