Police seize drugs, guns, arrest 65
Operations focus on east and west ends of GTA 20 street gangs found by police in Clarington
Major police undercover operations at the western and eastern ends of the GTA have taken more than $ 1 million in drugs and several guns off the street and led to 65 people being arrested for a wide range of offences.
Peel Regional Police yesterday said they had recovered more than $ 1 million worth of drugs during project “ Superman” while Durham Regional police displayed $250,000 worth of drugs, guns and cash collected during Project “ Burn” over the past five months. The arrests included what Peel police term a “ high- level drug dealer” in their area, and the son of a prominent Hells Angels biker in Durham.
“ These efforts by our police go a long way towards making our streets safer for everyone,” said Doug Moffatt, chair of the Durham Police Services Board. The Durham investigation was based in the largely rural “ apple country” area of Clarington on the GTA’s extreme eastern border. Durham deputy chief Chuck Mercier said more than 20 street gangs, some with biker connections, had moved into the sleepy community of Clarington, thinking that they were beyond the gaze of police, operating in the urban areas of Durham. “We have shown them that they can’t hide wherever they go,” Mercier told a news conference at Durham police headquarters. The five-month Durham investigation resulted in 58 arrests of suspects ranging from 14 to 40 years of age, charged with offences including drug trafficking, assault, sexual assault, possession of restricted weapons and possession of property obtained by crime.
Yesterday the police service laid out the evidence collected during the investigation on the conference table in a boardroom at Durham Regional headquarters. They included four pounds of cocaine worth $ 200,000, 253 ecstasy pills, 119 grams of marijuana, magic mushrooms, $ 20,000 in Canadian money and $767 in American money. The artillery included three handguns and a sawed- off rifle, complete with ammunition clips and many rounds to fit them.
Clarington Mayor John Mutton praised police for acting quickly to “ remove a criminal element that has moved into our community over the last year or so.” He said his municipality, known for its apple orchards and farmers’ markets, had become a haven for drug dealers from Oshawa, Toronto, Peterborough and other points east of the GTA such as Port Hope and Cobourg.
“ With the excellent co- operation of the police, we gave them a good lesson that drugs are not acrop we want harvested or sold in our municipality,” said Mutton.
Mercier said more than 20 loosely structured street-level gangs were doing business in Clarington through hotels and other entertainment venues. One of those arrested in Durham was Harley Davidson Guindon, 20, the son of Oshawa Hells Angel Bernie Guindon. The younger Guindon is charged with sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, extortion using a firearm, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault.
In Peel Region, police say seven suspects arrested on drug and weapons trafficking offences included Delroy Lee, also known as David Gayle, 44, who they allege is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the GTA.