Close to 150 charges laid in Toronto police guns, drugs investigations

Toronto police have arrested seven people and laid close to 150 charges in connection with three guns and drug investigations.

Some of the arrests are part of Project Sparta — targeting the storage and distribution of cocaine and other substances — which led to the arrests of three men back in January.

Since then, the investigation has grown and led to more arrests.

On Sept. 10, police executed 10 search warrants and arrested three men and one woman.

• Nikolai Knights, 32, of Toronto, was charged with 19 offences related to drug trafficking and firearm possession.
• Jonathan Donde, 37, of Toronto, was charged with six offences related to drug trafficking and other offences.
• Lisa Korman-Shaw, 38, of Toronto, was charged with six offences related to drug trafficking and other offences.
• Narottama De Sousa, 30, of Toronto, was charged with four offences related to drug trafficking and firearm possession.

Police seized 968 grams of fentanyl, 7.5 kilograms of cocaine, and other drugs. A A 12-gauge shotgun, 100 rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition, and about $190,000.

The four accused are scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Toronto police seized large quantities of fentanyl in two guns and drugs investigations from 2019. CITYNEWS/Bryan Carey

Then in September, police began an investigation dubbed Project Topside, which looked at the distribution of illicit substances and firearms in the city and the surrounding area.

Police executed six search warrants in Toronto and Markham on Oct. 24 and 25, and arrested two men:

• Imran Maragh, 31, of Stouffville, was charged with 57 offences related to drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and firearm possession.
• Kadean Maragh, 28, of Stouffville, was charged with 55 offences related to drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and firearm possession.

The two accused are expected to appear in court next Wednesday.

Police seized 1,259 grams of fentanyl, 3,816 grams of powder cocaine, and other drugs, as well as semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic handguns, and other firearms, and around $204,000.

Another suspect, Nicholas Reid, 27, of Markham, remains at-large. Police released his photo on Wednesday.

Nicholas Reid, 27, of Markham, is wanted in connection with a guns and drugs investigation. HANDOUT/Toronto Police Service

In a third investigation, which targeted the sales of cocaine at the street level, police executed a search warrant on Nov. 3 in the area of Lake Shore Boulevard and Park Lawn Road and arrested one man:

• Ramin Karimi, 36, of Toronto, was charged with “possession for the purpose [of] cocaine.”

Police seized six kilograms of powder cocaine worth around $600,000.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 20.