Toronto: Seven Canadian police officers, including an Indo-Canadian sergeant, have been arrested in a month-long investigation into organized crime and corruption.
Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demcu, left, York Regional Police Chief Jim McSween, center, and YRP Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan attend a news conference Thursday at York Regional Police headquarters in Aurora, Ontario to announce the results of ‘Project South,’ a long-running investigation into organized crime and corruption. (AP)The investigation, called Project South, was carried out by York Regional Police (YRP). It began “after police uncovered and shut down an attempted murder at a home in York Region,” said a YRP release issued Thursday.
On June 20 of last year, three suspects were arrested after using a vehicle with a police cruiser stationed at a residence.
According to investigators, a Toronto police constable, Timothy Bernhardt, allegedly “unlawfully accessed a police database, executing a query that produced confidential information”.
The investigation suggests that this is part of a pattern and that those involved are Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers. “In several cases, investigators have located addresses returned by illegal queries that later located criminal incidents, including an extortion, commercial robbery and shooting,” the statement said. The information was shared with people who police believed were “known to various criminal networks”.
In all, three officers and one retired officer were charged with crimes related to illegal questioning and distribution of confidential, private information. Four officials have been charged with bribery in an operation linked to weapons used in at least eight shootings across southern Ontario.
Some officers also face charges related to cocaine trafficking, and theft of personal property, including driver’s licenses, health cards, passports and credit cards.
Besides Bernhardt, the other officers include 38-year-old Toronto Police Service Sergeant Saurabjit Bedi.
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Another 19 people were arrested and charged with various offenses connected to the investigation, although they were not police officers, including Daljit Singh, a 32-year-old Indo-Canadian resident of Milton, Ontario.
None of the charges have been tested in court.
“Corruption has no place in policing – it has never been, and will never be, tolerated,” YRP chief Jim McSween said, “This investigation also highlights the insidious, corrosive nature of organized crime and how these criminals find ways to infiltrate even the most secure institutions across our society.”
“We understand that this news is deeply disappointing for the people of Toronto and our members,” said Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw.
“We are leaving no stone unturned. These are serious allegations and I can assure Torontonians that they will face an equally serious response from our service,” he added.