Police have charged what they say are the ringleaders behind a highly organized circuit of street racing and stunt driving events seen across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in recent months.
“The community has had enough,” said Chief Nishan Duraiappah, Peel Regional Police, of the operation, which responded to public complaints about events staged in city streets and in private parking lots. “Investigators were able to identify and connect organized street racing crime circles throughout the GTA.”
York Regional Police laid 10 criminal charges linked to the joint GTA operation, while Peel Regional Police charged six people it said are part of three key groups — ToTakeoverss, 416Wolfpack and 905MexicoRuns — it blames for organizing much of the reckless driving seen on city streets in Toronto, Peel and York Region in recent months.
At Thursday’s joint virtual press conference, York Deputy Chief Cecile Hammond spoke about the “stunning increase in speeding, stunt driving and car rallies that have prompted complaints from citizens across the GTA.”
Hammond said York police started seeing an uptick in reckless behaviour in April shortly after the COVID-19 lockdown began. As of June, stunt driving-related charges were up 128 per cent.
Since the lockdown, the Ontario Provincial Police has seen more than 1,000 examples of “dangerous aggressive drivers” refusing to stop for police when caught breaking road rules, which OPP Deputy Commissioner Rose DiMarco deemed a “significant public safety threat.”
Hammond said these coordinated street racing and stunt driving events were attended by droves of people, some of whom were not afraid to obstruct police trying to break up the gatherings.
One of the videos played at the joint press conference showed people hanging out of the windows of modified cars, while the driver performed a ring of doughnuts close to unprotected onlookers.
Another video shows a group taking over an intersection in Scarborough for a stunt-driving event. Some spectators and drivers scramble to evade police, while others create a human barricade blocking police from arresting drivers. The video shows people yelling at the police and even climbing onto the hood of the cruiser.
“That video speaks for itself in terms of the blatant disregard for human life and also the blatant disregard for police trying to deal with it,” said Toronto Deputy Chief Shawna Coxon.
Even after police broke up events, organizers would direct participants to new locations near the boundaries of Peel and York regions, along the 400-series highways to evade police detection.
Police said it doesn’t appear that the stunt drivers or street racers were in it for anything other than bragging rights and to show off in front of a crowd. Some sold merchandise, but there is no evidence of significant monetary gains, police said.
Police across the region worked under the joint banner of Project DRIFT (Dangerous Racing Investigative Focus Team) from mid-July to the end of September.
Police in York Region conducted targeted enforcement from late July to mid-August, resulting in 10 criminal charges and close to 300 provincial offences.
As seen in Wasaga Beach recently, geography is no boundary, with organizers going to great lengths to host illegal events, DiMarco said at Thursday’s press conference.
Police said the driving behaviours that were captured far exceeded the threshold of what constitutes a dangerous driving charge. Investigators determined that participants were engaged in highly organized and coordinated attacks on our roads, including taking over entire intersections and disrupting travel of other residents.
This summer’s operation resulted in the following charges:
Jonathan Rooplal, 25, of Toronto has been charged with dangerous driving (aiding and abetting), obstruct person in lawful seizure, cause disturbance and dangerous driving.
Tyler Kendall, 29, of Brampton has been charged with 12 counts of dangerous driving (aiding and abetting) and obstruct peace officer. Police alleged he’s a member and promoter of ToTakerovers.
Mohamed Djebel-Ameli, 22, of Richmond Hill has been charged with dangerous driving (aiding and abetting). Police say he’s connected to ToTakerovers.
Torrell Campbell, 22, of Barrie, has been charged with dangerous driving (aiding and abetting). He’s alleged to be a member and promoter with ToTakerovers.
Harmanjot Rehal, 23, of Mississauga has been charged with dangerous driving (aiding and abetting). Police alleged he’s a promoter with 416wolvepack.
Amidulla Baluch, 21, from Toronto has been charged with driving while prohibited, failing to comply with recognizance, breach of probation and possession of property obtained by crime. Police alleged he’s a operator and promoter of 905Mexicanrun.
Jason Miller is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering crime and justice in Peel Region. His reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.
