Toronto police to update raids involving Five Point Generalz street gang

Toronto police will provide an update Friday morning on raids conducted in the Greater Toronto Area that targeted the Five Point Generalz street gang.

Chief Mark Saunders told reporters yesterday that 70 people were arrested following a number of early morning raids on Thursday.

Toronto police said more than 50 search warrants were carried out around 5 a.m. in Toronto, Durham, York and Peel Region. Authorities said more than 800 officers from various police departments took part in Project Patton.

Saunders said the street gang, which has been operating in the west end of the city for more than a decade, has been dealt a significant blow as a result of the arrests.

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“We allege the Five Point Generalz are a dangerous street gang that, while having roots in the area surrounding Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West, its criminal activities extended throughout Toronto and the GTA, and Canada, the United States as well as in the Caribbean,” Saunders said.

“Our investigators are confident that Project Patton has effectively disrupted and dealt a significant blow to the hierarchy and operations of the Five Point Generalz.”

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The street gang arrests follow a series a violent gun play and homicides across the city in recent weeks. In once such incident, it resulted with two young girls being hospitalized after they were both shot at a playground in Scarborough.

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“When we look at the numbers, the numbers are indicating that really we have five more gun occurrences a month, for this year, compared to last year. That’s not a tremendous increase but it is still moving in the wrong direction,” Saunders said.

Saunders said street gang activity plays a major role in the proliferation of gun violence in the city and making arrests is just one step to ensuring communities are safe.

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