Toronto Guns and Gangs Lawyer, Arman Farjoud has successfully defended clients accused of serious criminal offences in relation to various Guns and Gangs investigations. Criminal charges stemming from a guns and gangs or project case, such as conspiracy, possession, trafficking, and other criminal organization offences, carry severe consequences and may ultimately take longer than usual to resolve. If you or someone you know has been charged in relation to a guns and gangs or project investigation, the assistance of a dedicated criminal lawyer will be absolutely essential.
TORONTO POLICE GUN AND GANG TASK FORCE
Created in 2004, the Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, commonly referred to as ‘Toronto Guns and Gangs’ is a unique division of Toronto Police Service (TPS). Designated ‘Guns and Gangs’ police officers, crown attorneys, and support staff operate out of an undisclosed location in the Greater Toronto Area, in an effort to identify and reduce both large-scale criminal organizations, and gun and gang violence.
Large-scale criminal investigations conducted by the ‘Guns and Gangs’ unit are often referred to as “projects” and given a coded name. Project Fusion, Project Pathfinder, Project Marvel, Project Traveller, Project XXX, Project Coral, and Project Khiar, are the names of just a few of the past investigations. Project cases not only involve a large number of police officers from Guns and Gangs, but may also involve various divisions of TPS (e.g. Major Crimes, Drug Squad, TAVIS, ETF etc.) and multiple police agencies (e.g. YRP, OPP, RCMP, etc.)
Investigative techniques implemented in project cases commonly include a combination of the following: authorized interception of private communications (“wiretaps”), surveillance, tracking-devices, confidential informants, search warrants, production of third party records, etc. At the conclusion of these lengthy investigations, Guns and Gangs police officers, as well as officers from various divisions of the TPS co-operatively participate in the simultaneous execution of multiple raids on target locations suspected to be involved in criminal activities, on what’s been called “take-down day”.
Criminal Organization Charges
What is a “criminal organization”?
A criminal organization is defined by s. 467.1 of the Criminal Code
“criminal organization” means a group, however organized, that
(a) is composed of three or more persons in or outside Canada; and
(b) has as one of its main purposes or main activities the facilitation or commission of one or more serious offences that, if committed, would likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material benefit, including a financial benefit, by the group or by any of the persons who constitute the group.
Special Bail Hearings
If you have been charged and detained in custody in relation to a criminal investigation conducted by Toronto Guns and Gangs or in relation to a project case, it is very likely that you will be required to conduct a special bail hearing in order to be released on bail.
A special bail hearing, is a bail hearing that generally requires a greater amount of time than a normal bail hearing. The additional time requirement is due to the seriousness of the allegations as well as the additional amount of facts or evidence that the crown attorney will be reading into the court record. A special bail hearing must be scheduled in advance to ensure the availability of your sureties, criminal lawyer, a courtroom, justice of the peace/judge, and the attendance of a Guns and Gangs crown attorney.
