Crime ring exchanged stolen baby formula for drugs in Mississauga, Ont.: police
Peel Regional Police say the four-month investigation, dubbed Project Bengal, revealed an organized crime group responsible for trafficking of drugs and thefts from retail businesses in the city's Meadowvale area.
Investigators say suspects were allegedly stealing high-demand baby products, including formula and vitamins, to exchange them for drugs.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Police say they used security footage and other investigative techniques to identify key suspects and two properties used for storing stolen products and to consume drugs.
They say officers seized over half a kilogram of cocaine and a variety of other illicit drugs, along with a significant amount of stolen items and proceeds of crime.
Police say about $30,000 worth of stolen merchandise was recovered and returned.
Story continues below advertisement
They say 11 people have been arrested and charged with offences related to drugs and stolen property.
Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Marc Andrews said officers were able to make the arrests thanks to help from community members.
'Complaints from the community, combined with increased police presence by our 11 Division Community Incident Response Team (CIRT), enabled the dismantling of an organized crime group targeting commercial retail businesses and trafficking drugs,' he said in a statement.
'This investigation demonstrates the power of collaboration, and the vital role community trust plays in keeping our neighbourhoods safe.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
15 minutes ago
- Global News
Tesla found partly liable for fatal Autopilot crash, must pay over US$200M
A Miami jury decided that Elon Musk's car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $200 million in punitive damages. The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cell phone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars. The decision comes as Musk seeks to convince Americans his cars are safe enough to drive on their own as he plans to roll out a driverless taxi service in several cities in the coming months. The decision ends a four-year long case remarkable not just in its outcome but that it even made it to trial. Many similar cases against Tesla have been dismissed and, when that didn't happen, settled by the company to avoid the spotlight of a trial. Story continues below advertisement 'This will open the floodgates,' said Miguel Custodio, a car crash lawyer not involved in the Tesla case. 'It will embolden a lot of people to come to court.' The case also included startling charges by lawyers for the family of the deceased, 22-year-old, Naibel Benavides Leon, and for her injured boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. They claimed Tesla either hid or lost key evidence, including data and video recorded seconds before the accident. Tesla has previously faced criticism that it is slow to cough up crucial data by relatives of other victims in Tesla crashes, accusations that the car company has denied. In this case, the plaintiffs showed Tesla had the evidence all along, despite its repeated denials, by hiring a forensic data expert who dug it up. Tesla said it made a mistake after being shown the evidence and honestly hadn't thought it was there. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Today's verdict is wrong,' Tesla's lawyers said in a statement, 'and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology,' They said the plaintiffs concocted a story 'blaming the car when the driver – from day one – admitted and accepted responsibility.' The lawyers said Tesla plans to appeal. 0:41 Tesla confirms driver had autopilot engaged before crash It's not clear how much of a hit to Tesla's reputation for safety the verdict in the Miami case will make. Tesla has vastly improved its technology since the crash on a dark, rural road in Key Largo, Florida, in 2019. Story continues below advertisement But the issue of trust generally in the company came up several times in the case, including in closing arguments Thursday. The plaintiffs' lead lawyer, Brett Schreiber, said Tesla's decision to even use the term Autopilot showed it was willing to mislead people and take big risks with their lives because the system only helps drivers with lane changes, slowing a car and other tasks, falling far short of driving the car itself. Schreiber said other automakers use terms like 'driver assist' and 'copilot' to make sure drivers don't rely too much on the technology. 'Words matter,' Schreiber said. 'And if someone is playing fast and lose with words, they're playing fast and lose with information and facts.' Schreiber acknowledged that the driver, George McGee, was negligent when he blew through flashing lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at 62 miles an hour before slamming into a Chevrolet Tahoe that the couple had parked to get a look at the stars. The Tahoe spun around so hard it was able to launch Benavides 75 feet through the air into nearby woods where her body was later found. It also left Angulo, who walked into the courtroom Firday with a limp and cushion to sit on, with broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. But Schreiber said Tesla was at fault nonetheless. He said Tesla allowed drivers to act recklessly by not disengaging the Autopilot as soon as they begin to show signs of distraction and by allowing them to use the system on smaller roads that it was not designed for, like the one McGee was driving on. Story continues below advertisement 'I trusted the technology too much,' said McGee at one point in his testimony. 'I believed that if the car saw something in front of it, it would provide a warning and apply the brakes.' The lead defense lawyer in the Miami case, Joel Smith, countered that Tesla warns drivers that they must keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel yet McGee chose not to do that while he looked for a dropped cell phone, adding to the danger by speeding. Noting that McGee had gone through the same intersection 30 or 40 times previously and hadn't crashed during any of those trips, Smith said that this isolates the cause to one thing alone: 'The cause is that he dropped his cell phone.' The auto industry has been watching the case closely because a finding of Tesla liability despite a driver's admission of reckless behavior would pose significant legal risks for every company as they develop cars that increasingly drive themselves.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Ontario mother accused of killing her newborn baby, faces murder charge
Police in Kingston, Ont., have arrested and charged a mother with second degree murder after her newborn child was found dead earlier this week. On July 27 police started to look into a suspicious death at a home on the 1400 block of Albany Dr., in Kingston's west end. The investigation included assistance from several departments and the Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Then on Tuesday, police said 22-year-old Thi My Nguyen, who is the baby's mother, was arrested by detectives and charged with improperly interfering with a dead body. She appeared in Kingston's bail court on Wednesday and was held in custody at that time. As a result of the investigation, police say the mother has now also been charged with the second-degree murder of a newborn child. Story continues below advertisement Due to the circumstances of the incident under investigation, police say no prior release was made, as there was no apparent risk to public safety. Kingston police are asking anyone who believes they may have information about this crime to contact police.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Mother, five-month-old baby killed by falling tree at B.C. campground
A 26-year-old mother and her five-month-old child have died after a tree fell on them at a popular Vancouver Island campground on Thursday. The tragedy happened shortly before 2 p.m. at the Cumberland Lake Park Campground on Comox Lake, just outside of Cumberland. 'A tree fell on two people on the beach, one woman and one infant,' Deputy Cumberland Fire Chief Stephane Dionne told Global News on Thursday. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'When we arrived on scene, the pedestrian was doing CPR on the patient and the infant, and we worked, we assisted them until B.C. Ambulance arrived.' On Friday, Comox Lake RCMP said the mother died at the scene, while the infant — who had been rushed to hospital in critical condition — did not survive. Police said they were working with the BC Coroners Service to determine the exact circumstances around the deaths. They do not believe there was any criminality involved. Story continues below advertisement Mounties offered their appreciation and condolences to bystanders who leapt in to try and help 'under heartbreaking circumstances.'
