TORONTO — A wide-ranging investigation into organized crime in the greater Toronto area has led to criminal charges against seven Toronto Police Service officers and one retired member, with investigators alleging some officers unlawfully accessed and shared confidential information later used to facilitate violent crime, including a plot to murder a corrections manager.
York Regional Police announced the results of the investigation, known as Project South, during a media briefing on Feb. 5, calling the case one of the most complex police corruption probes in recent memory. The investigation began in June 2025 and involved more than 400 officers from multiple agencies, including York Regional Police, the Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and Correctional Services of Ontario.
Plot to kill corrections manager sparked investigation
According to York Regional Police Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan, the investigation began after police uncovered a conspiracy to murder a member of corrections management employed at an Ontario correctional institution.
Investigators allege that over a 36-hour period, suspects returned multiple times to the manager’s home in York Region, with surveillance footage showing masked men armed with a loaded handgun ramming a police cruiser parked in the driveway. Three suspects were arrested at the scene and found in possession of a firearm, police said.
Hogan said investigators later determined that a Toronto police officer had unlawfully accessed confidential personal information about the corrections manager and passed it to criminal associates. That information allegedly circulated through organized crime networks and was used to plan the attempted killing.
Police said there is no evidence the corrections manager was involved in criminal activity.
Officers accused of accessing and selling confidential information
Investigators allege that seven active Toronto police officers and one retired member engaged in varying levels of criminal conduct, including bribery, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking and the unauthorized access and distribution of confidential police information.
Police allege some officers accessed personal and private information through police databases and provided it to members of organized crime, sometimes in exchange for bribes. That information was allegedly used to carry out extortion schemes, commercial robberies and at least seven shootings in York Region.
One firearm recovered at a shooting scene was traced to the United States and has been forensically linked to multiple shootings across southern Ontario, investigators said.
Drug trafficking and international connections alleged
Police allege the criminal network involved in the case was engaged in large-scale drug trafficking, including the export of illicit drugs outside Canada.
When one alleged key figure was arrested on Jan. 23, 2026, officers seized approximately 169 pounds of cannabis and one pound of fentanyl, which investigators believe was destined for a European location. Police also reported ongoing investigations into cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking linked to the network.
Several of the charged officers are accused of participating directly in drug trafficking, including cocaine-related offenses, according to investigators.
Theft of personal property from police facility
The investigation also uncovered allegations unrelated to the attempted killing. Police said a Toronto police officer was arrested in connection with the theft of personal property from a police facility, including driver’s licenses, health cards and passports. Investigators said a substantial amount of stolen property has since been recovered.
Additional non-police suspects were arrested for trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, illicit cannabis, fentanyl, heroin and oxycodone, police said.
Police chiefs address corruption allegations
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw and York Regional Police Chief Jim MacsWeen both addressed the allegations during the briefing, calling the case deeply troubling while emphasizing that the majority of officers serve with integrity.
Chief Demkiw said all seven active officers charged in the case have been suspended, and the service is seeking suspension without pay for four of them where legally permitted. He said the Toronto Police Service will support both the criminal court process and internal disciplinary proceedings.
“This is a painful and unsettling moment,” Demkiw said. “Corruption has no place in policing.”
Independent oversight review requested
Demkiw said the Toronto Police Service Board chair and the chief have formally requested the Ontario Inspector General of Policing to conduct an independent external inspection of the service. The review will examine several priority areas, including access to police databases, internal controls and oversight mechanisms.
York Regional Police said the investigation remains ongoing and additional charges are possible as investigators continue to examine relationships between organized crime figures and police officers.
“This investigation will continue,” Hogan said. “We will pursue every lead.”
