Toronto police nab Latino gang’s alleged leader

Toronto police nab Latino gang’s alleged leader: “Toronto Police said today they have dealt a severe blow to the L.A. Boys street gang, which had recently been moving beyond its turf in the Bloor and Christie area to become a growing player across the city.
The police operation, code-named ‘Project Cheddar,’ scooped up the Latino gang’s alleged leader, 26-year-old Jose Vivar, along with eight other gang members and six handguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, 10 kilograms of cocaine, $130,000 in cash and smaller amounts of ecstasy, crack cocaine and marijuana.
Mr. Vivar was acquitted of murder three years ago in the 2002 killing of Christie Boys’ gang leader Gary Malo, who was shot to death outside a west-end bar. Mr. Vivar is facing 34 counts of drug and firearms offences, including three of possession of a restricted firearm, trafficking in firearms and possession of and trafficking cocaine and marijuana.
Detective-Sergeant Doug Quan said the raids late Wednesday and early yesterday followed a lengthy undercover investigation into the street gang, which in recent months has moved beyond its traditional Bloor/Christie turf.
‘They’ve evolved, they’ve come to a level where they’re not necessarily recognizing territory - they’re above your street-level kind of functions,’ Det.-Sgt. Quan told a news conference today.
Police say the raids have kept a large shipment of drugs and illegal firearms off the city’s streets. ‘It does have ramifications at every level of the drug-dealing hierarchy. We feel that it’s a significant seizure and certainly addresses some public safety issues.’
He said the investigation is continuing and may result in further charges or more arrests. Police are particularly interested in tracking the handguns seized, which include smaller .22-calibre pistols to a gold-plated .50-calibre Desert Eagle automatic.
— Story by Chris Wattie, National Post

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(Via national post.)