Toronto, Ontario — York Regional Police have laid hundreds of charges against 20 members of the towing industry accused of being involved in the GTA’s towing turf war.
At least four murders, as well as several shootings and more than 50 torchings of tow trucks have been linked to criminal organizations operating in the GTA’s towing sector.
As part of a joint investigation with other regional police forces — Project Platinum — police conducted raids on a number of sites across the greater Golden Horseshoe Region.
Police say more than 40 firearms — including a machine gun — were found during the searches. At least two of the weapons had been modified for use in close quarters — including a shotgun with a sawed-off stock.
Police also recovered about $150,000 worth of cocaine, $115,000 worth of crystal meth from the locations.
Police say that members of at least four criminal groups had charges laid against them.
Two murder charges were laid for the 2018 killing of towing industry professional Soheil Rafipour in Richmond Hill.
Last week, two minors were arrested for the killing of 23-year-old towing professional Hashin Kinani.
Collision Repair is also investigating comments made by York Regional Police about the suspected involvement of auto repair professionals in collaborating with criminal towing organizations to inflate bills. So far, no charges have been laid against auto repair professionals.
