A Toronto Police Service cross-border firearm trafficking investigation dubbed Project Moneypenny has lead to 42 arrests and 422 criminal charges.
It was a year long investigation that involved both Canadian and American law enforcement agencies which also saw illegal narcotics, cash, and 173 firearms seized in both countries.
Project Moneypenny was initiated in March 2022 by the Toronto Police Service, and in July 2022, the York Regional Police Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit started Project Zorro. During the initial phases of both projects, police say undercover officers successfully purchased quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and 25 firearms from 25 different people with the majority of the firearms seized from both investigations coming from the United States.
In September 2022, the two investigations combined to roust out individuals who were involved in illicit firearms sales in Toronto and the GTA. A few of the pertinent details include 87 handguns being seized in Chicago, Illinois, in a vehicle driven by a resident from Arizona, which were destined for Canada. Police say the seized firearms originated in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, and Texas. Several of the firearms sold to undercover officers were domestically sourced and law enforcement officials allege these individuals were also selling narcotics, including fentanyl, carfentanil, and cocaine.
Some of the police agencies involved included: Toronto Police Service: Integrated Gun & Gang Task Force – Firearms Enforcement Unit, Drug Squad, Intelligence Services; York Regional Police including Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit. Durham Regional Police Service; Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) – Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU) and the Provincial Guns and Gangs Enforcement; Criminal Intelligence Services Ontario (CISO); Firearms Analysis and Training Enforcement (FATE); US Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
In total, investigators seized:
86 firearms (75 handguns/11 long guns) in the GTA
87 firearms (all handguns) in Illinois, United States
45 over capacity magazines
1,454 rounds of ammunition
3 auto switches
3 sets of body armour
approximately 1.5 kilos of fentanyl/carfentanil, with a street value of approximately $300,000
approximately 1.8 kilos of cocaine, with a street value of approximately $190,000
approximately $184,000 in proceeds of crime
