A routine traffic stop in July escalated into a major police investigation that resulted in the seizure of 11 illegal firearms, tens of thousands of dollars in drugs, and nearly 160 charges against five Brampton residents.
Three of the five suspects were family members: two brothers and a mother. Two have already been released on bail and one was released on the same day they were arrested on an undertaking.
One of the alleged criminals, Navdeep Nagra, was out on bail at the time of his arrest. He alone is facing 105 charges and remains in custody; however, his brother and mother, who face three charges each, have both been released.
At a press conference on Monday, Peel police announced the results of “Project Sledgehammer,” an operation that began with a traffic stop and expanded into a months-long investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies. The investigation targeted the group suspected of drug trafficking in Peel and the Greater Toronto Area.
Detective Sergeant Chris Fiore, head of Peel’s gun and gangs unit, said the investigation led to raids on three homes in Brampton, one in Waterloo, and a storage facility in Caledon.
Police located 11 firearms, including assault rifles and a submachine gun, 900 rounds of ammunition, and 85 prohibited devices. Other items seized included 53 Glock selector switches that turn semi-automatic handguns fully automatic and an estimated $20,000 of cocaine. Additionally, 80 oxycodone pills and 100 other unknown pills were confiscated.
The Peel region has become a hub for illegal firearms. A previous record firearm bust in Peel highlighted that 97% of the guns were smuggled from the United States.
“On average, we are seeing an illegal firearm seized by our officers every 30 hours,” said Chief of Peel Regional Police Nishan Duraiappah. “Approximately 90% of these firearms that we seize are directly traced back to the U.S. And I can say in reality, the remaining 10% are also likely from the U.S; they just reflect the ability of the difficulty we have on tracing some of these firearms because they’ve been de-identified.”
Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich highlighted that illegal firearms seizures have increased by 87% this year. Similarly, shootings have increased by 80% compared to last year. He added that roughly half of those arrested are out on some form of release from previous crimes.
Regional Chair of the Peel Police Service Board, Nando Iannicca, said that individuals committing crimes while being out on bail has become a recurring theme of great concern.
“We have the privilege of representing the public,” said Iannicca. “Something’s fundamentally wrong when we have that privilege as elected officials, and we keep putting citizens and police officers in harm’s way because of what you referred to: bail — the revolving system of justice.”
Duraiappah said that the volume and accessibility to illegal firearms have skyrocketed.
The same day of the press conference from Peel Regional Police, the Ontario government released a statement urging the federal government to take immediate action on bail reform.
The provincial government made six demands from the Liberals, such as restoring minimum sentencing for serious crimes and removing bail availability for offenders charged with murder, terrorism, human trafficking, and other very serious crimes.
All of Canada’s 13 premiers already pleaded with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reform the bail system.
The federal government told the premiers that they were to blame.
