‘Alarming’ number of illegal guns seized in Peel Region in 2024: Chief

An illegal firearm is seized by Peel Regional Police around once every 36 hours. That was just one of several disturbing statistics released by Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah on Tuesday, who called the sheer number of guns in the region “alarming.”

Duraiappah outlined some success in getting those guns off the streets thanks to the work of the Strategic and Tactical Enforcement Policing (STEP) team.

The STEP team has seized more than double the number of illegal firearms than last year, and more than triple the amount when compared to 2022.

“The alarming increase of illegal firearms in our communities is a serious risk to public safety, and I want to commend our officers for their continued efforts to remove more and more of these weapons from our streets,” said Duraiappah.

So far in 2024, the STEM team has seized the following:

• 53 illegal firearms;
• 63 magazines; and
• 915 rounds of ammunition.

It’s no big surprise where the gun are coming from either — of the 53 weapons seized by the STEP team, 41 have been traced back to the United States. The other 12 are still being traced.

The team’s efforts have led to 50 arrests and 461 charges.

“While this has been an unprecedented year for the STEP, the firearms seized by this team only account for about a quarter of all the firearms seized by PRP,” a release reveals.

“To date, PRP has seized 205 illegal firearms, up from 143 in 2023, including the largest seizure in the service’s history of 71 firearms seized as part of Project Chrome in June.”