Project Strong: Hamilton police announce results of massive gun and drug project

Hamilton police seized 23 guns and an estimated $1.8 million in drugs during a four-month project that targeted street-level gangs and drug dealers who police say are increasingly using guns to carry out violent acts across the city.

Dubbed Project Strong, the servicewide effort began in December in response to an increase in violent crime, police said. This included 51 shootings last year, with 21 from September to December 2020 alone.

Everyone from patrol, to our guns and gangs unit, to vice and drugs units were equipped with intelligence to identify individuals responsible for this increase in Hamilton's gun violence,' said Deputy Chief Frank Bergen.

In all 112 people face 831 charges, including 377 firearm offences.

Det. Peter Hall, of the vice and drug unit, was the officer in charge of the project that involved around 40 investigators. They began in December looking at about 10 shootings on the Mountain, including the Towercrest Drive area. From there they branched out, following intelligence about guns, gangs and drugs.

The goal was to stop targeted retaliation by these neighbourhood gangs, he said. In the first three months of 2021 there have been just six shootings in the city.

Hall said those targeted were local players. Unlike traditional organized crime, these gang groups are disorganized."

They are some of the lowest dealers in the food chain," he added.

But increasingly they have access to and use guns. Whereas five years ago police would occasionally see a gun during searches of this type of criminal, now it's much more common.

Shootings are often tied to drugs or debts, but the gangs and dealers don't have traditional territories, Hall said. You might have a shooting on the Mountain, where the shooters are from the east end, or vice versa.

Police also see shootings tied to beefs, including posts on social media.

At the beginning of Project Strong, around Christmas, there was a cluster of shootings in east Hamilton. This included a shooting Dec. 21 where a 20-year-old man was shot and suffered non-life threatening injuries. After that there was a shooting in a rural area and three separate shootings at residences.

Police were eventually able to connect these shootings. On Jan. 14 four males - one 20-year-old and three 17-year-olds - were charged in connection with five shootings between Dec. 21 and 25. They all face multiple gun charges.

Hall said this was the work of Project Strong.

Police have also gathered very valuable intelligence and evidence connected to other ongoing shooting investigations, he added.

Among the items seized were outlaw motorcycle gang memorabilia, including Mongols Nation rings and biker vests with patches for Mongols and Rock Machine motorcycle clubs. These were seized, along with a bulletproof vest, during three recent, connected searches on the Mountain.

Hall said it's not clear how closely those involved are tied to the outlaw motorcycle gangs, but he noted there is an ongoing investigation into whether criminal organization charges are possible.

There is no evidence to suggest those two particular motorcycle clubs are active in Hamilton, he said.

There were 87 search warrants executed on residences and vehicles. Police seized:

• 23 firearms;

• More than 880 rounds of ammunition;

• 23 weapons;

• Approximately $350,000 in cash;

• 4.6 kg cocaine;

• 2.5 kg fentanyl;

• 645 g MDMA;

• 1 kg psilocybin (mushrooms);

• 1.5 kg crystal meth;

• 8.6 g heroin;

• More than 13,000 pills including, Xanax, ecstasy, oxycodone, codeine and hydromorphone;

• 6 kg marijuana;

• 1,100 mL GHB and codeine liquid;

• 900 packages of THC-related products;

• dozens of unknown pills sent for testing; and

• 6.3 kg of suspected cutting agent.

Hall said he was particularly concerned to see a bag of orange pills that were pressed into the shape of the head of the character Stewie from the show Family Guy. Initially police thought they were MDMA, but testing revealed they were actually PCP (phencyclidine) - a dangerous hallucinogen.

They looked like kids' vitamins, he said, adding that the concern is buyers might not be aware of what they're getting. Police also see opioids, such as fentanyl and carfentanil, mixed with other drugs.

As for the guns seized, some were stolen from the United States and some stolen from within Canada. Some of the guns were modified, for instance a starter pistol converted to shoot .22- or .38-calibre bullets. Organized crime groups have been known to use 3D printers to do this. One of the guns seized was legally owned.

Every time police on the project got intelligence they would aggressively investigate," Hall said, adding that they have put solid cases together to go to court.

But just because the project is over doesn't mean this work stops.

This isn't the end," Bergen said.

Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com