Police swooped down on members of a motorcycle gang this week arresting 21 people and seizing drugs and guns after a six-month sting operation.
In an operation dubbed Project Hilltop, 150 officers simultaneously raided 13 locations in Southern Ontario. Most of the raids took place in York Region, north of Toronto.
At least eight of the 21 people arrested Thursday evening are members of the Loners, a gang that controls much of the drug trafficking north of Toronto. Those arrested included the president of the gang's Richmond Hill clubhouse, which is a power base for the group, York Regional Police said. The others, dubbed "associates," are alleged to have helped produce and traffic drugs.
Police have warrants for the arrests of two more associates.
The Loners and those affiliated with them face more than 250 charges, with 75 per cent of those charges drug-related, Sergeant John Sheldon of York Region said yesterday. The rest involve mostly theft and weapons charges.
The drugs seized include cocaine, hashish, marijuana and mushrooms. Their street value is estimated to be about $1.5-million.
Sgt. Sheldon said the Loners work in or around York Region. While their organization is not believed to reach Toronto's core, its activity is thought to extend to London and occasionally to Hamilton.
Officers from York Region, Toronto, the OPP and other services were involved in the raid. Undercover officers laid the groundwork in the case that tactical officers helped conclude.
Yves Lavigne, the Toronto-based author of Hells Angels At War and other books on motorcycle gangs, said the Loners are at the bottom of the top six gangs in Ontario. While significant, the gang is not nearly as powerful as the top-tier gangs, such as Satan's Choice.
Noting that the Loners lost about half of their 40 members to a rival gang five years ago, Mr. Lavigne said the arrests hurt the gang's efforts to rebuild.
He added that $1.5-million would not translate into a huge amount of drugs, but that gangs tend not to stockpile.
Colin Freeze