Peel police probe targets 'well-known' street gang allegedly behind violent carjackings

Peel police say they have dismantled a "very well-known" Brampton street gang alleged to be behind violent carjackings and pharmacy robberies in the region.

At a news conference Tuesday, Peel police Det.-Const. Tara Farrow said 20 people were arrested — 12 youth and eight adults — and 103 charges laid over the course of an investigation dubbed Project Sterling. 

The charges include robbery with a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, assault and attempted murder, Farrow said.

Police also seized two guns, two imitation firearms and six stolen vehicles valued at roughly $125,000, she added.

The investigation began in early 2023 after a series of armed car thefts and pharmacy robberies, according to Farrow.

While Farrow declined to name the gang, she said it has known ties to criminal organizations in other parts of the GTA and often recruited youths, sometimes through threats of violence, to commit carjackings. 

Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said that since 2019, the gang has been connected to hundreds of criminal charges, 104 robberies and seven attempted murders, as well as 41 stolen vehicle and property incidents.

Since Project Sterling began, Milinovich said, carjackings are down 11 per cent and pharmacy robberies are down 62 per cent in Peel over last year. 

According to Farrow, the investigation also led to the identification of several suspects who allegedly stole a vehicle that was later used in the drive-by shooting of a 15-year-old student at Weston Collegiate Institute in Toronto. Toronto police eventually laid 10 charges, including attempted murder, in connection with the February shooting.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who spoke alongside police at the news conference, said the results of the investigation send a message to organized crime groups that they will face accountability.

"The type of terrifying carjackings we've seen in our community are not acceptable," he said.