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Toronto gang suspects still awaiting bail hearings |
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The next stage in the prosecution of an alleged Toronto street gang stalled as it began on Thursday, with the Crown indicating it was not ready to proceed with a bail hearing for any of the 95 people in custody.
The announcement was met with an angry response by family members of the accused and defence lawyers who questioned why there were no resources allocated to deal with anyone arrested on Wednesday after the 11-month police investigation dubbed Project Kryptic.
One at a time, each of the defendants was brought into a small courtroom and told they must remain in custody at least until Monday, because the Crown did not have the information to decide if it would agree to their release on bail.
Defence lawyers were not given any detailed information about the allegations against their clients.
"I am shocked and saddened," said defence lawyer Aston Hall outside court Thursday. "The rights of people have been disregarded. If you want to raid, go ahead," he said. "But you must be prepared to deal with the consequences."
Targeting the Driftwood Crips gang, police executed search warrants on more than 80 homes in the troubled Jane and Finch area of the city, and seized 24 handguns, four sawed-off rifles, four replica guns and 900 rounds of ammunition.
They also collected cocaine, marijuana and hashish with a street value of more than $1-million, as well as $220,000 in Canadian and U.S. currency.
The defendants range in age from a 14-year-old male arrested for hashish possession to a 56-year-old woman who was charged with weapons and drug offences along with her three adult sons. Police said six suspects are still at large.
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