Hamilton police arrest 24 in street gang investigation

Hamilton Police Service today announced two dozen people have been arrested and 172 charges have been laid in an investigation into a street gang allegedly responsible for violent crime across Ontario.

The investigation, dubbed Project Churchill, began in 2019 when police noted a “significant rise” in violent crime in downtown Hamilton linked to a gang self-identified as the “Hot Mali Squad”, the HPS said today during a press conference.

Police say the gang is connected to homicides, drug trafficking, daytime shootings and robberies in Hamilton and neighbouring areas, including Toronto, Waterloo and Halton. Police say their investigation revealed the gang was linked to a Bahamas-based gang faction known as the Dirty South, which has allegedly smuggled and distributed illegal firearms from the United States into the Toronto area.

The Hamilton Police Service, along with several other police forces, conducted 17 search warrants across southern Ontario on Nov. 13 which resulted in 24 arrests, including a 17-year-old girl, who are facing 172 charges.

Police say a 39-year-old man is still wanted for arrest, and three of the accused are also wanted in crimes in the Bahamas.