4 people facing 260 charges in months-long Toronto firearm trafficking investigation
Posted December 5, 2022 11:50 am.
Last Updated December 5, 2022 1:09 pm.
Four people have been charged after more than 62 firearms were seized in a months-long Toronto police investigation.
Project Barbell first began in the fall of 2021 when the Gun and Gang Task Force launched an investigation into a suspected armed criminal group.
On May 28, 2022, officers conducted search warrants at five locations across the city, including in Scarborough and Etobicoke. As a result of the warrants, police arrested six people and seized a large amount of evidence.
Among the alleged evidence was 62 firearms, including five AR-15 type firearms and three AK type firearms, ammunition, proceeds of crime, and two BMWs.
As a result of the evidence found, over 260 charges were laid.
Syed Mohammed Ali Zaidi, 27, Michael Simpson, 29, Syeda Tirmizi, 27, and Shaheen Abdul, 62, all from Toronto, are facing numerous firearms offences among other charges.
Zaidi, 27, is also facing charges in connection with a “reckless shooting incident” that occurred at a bar in October 2021 in the Queen and Portland sreets area.
They are all expected to appear in court on Friday, Dec. 9.
