Peel Regional Police investigators say they’ve dismantled an organized criminal enterprise that carried out more than 15 violent home invasions involving the theft of luxury vehicles and high-end jewellery.
Project Ghost resulted in the arrests of 13 people, included five youths, who now face a combined total of nearly 200 charges.
“In total, the group stole $1.8 million in property, including luxury vehicles and high-end jewellery,” Peel police stated. “Approximately one-third of the stolen property has been recovered. Investigators also seized additional items, including cell phones, laptops, a replica firearm, and a quantity of white powder believed to be cocaine.”
Investigators say the group was organized and “operated with defined roles, including leaders and participants responsible for targeting high-end vehicles, coordinating the robberies, selling stolen property, and recruiting youth to carry out the crimes.”
Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said the organization was “led by several adults, who were primarily using youths from our community to execute those home invasion and car thefts.”
Milinovich said the group created “terror in the community.”
“Imagine being asleep at your home at 3 a.m. with your family, your kids, when the door explodes open and masked, armed criminals break into your home and immediately begin to rob you and assault you,” he said.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said residents in the area could “sleep easier” after the arrests, and called the gang’s exploitation of youth to carry out many of the crimes “absolutely disgusting.”
Project Ghost was initiated when a criminal network was identified to be connected to the following violent incidents:
- On Aug. 1, 2024, at about 2:45 a.m., three suspects attempted to break into a home on Maybeck Drive in Brampton after targeting a BMW parked in the driveway. The suspects fled in a white Acura after failing to gain entry.
- About 30 minutes later, the same suspects broke into a Boathouse Road home and demanded keys to a Mercedes-Benz. Though the victims complied, three were stabbed – one critically, with a wound narrowly missing his heart.
- The suspects fled in the white Acura. Two were arrested after surveillance, and a third was later arrested with stolen property recovered following a search warrant.
- On Sept. 10, the driver of a Lamborghini was shot and seriously injured in a targeted attack in Mississauga. Two suspects were arrested and charged with attempted murder.
“The project was able to link the shooting and home invasions to the same criminal group, along with other home invasions and luxury vehicle and jewelry thefts across Peel and Halton,” Peel police said in a release.
“Evidence from seized phones and an accused’s statement connected the network to 13 additional incidents and identified the culprits involved.”
The following individuals are facing a slew of charges, related to organized crime, robbery, attempted murder, firearms and more:
Mississauga
- Muhammad Munzir Sultan (21)
- Ounali Hussain (25)
- Muhammad Raed Abbasi (20)
- Mirza Arfeen Baig (22)
- Melad Barghouthi (24)
- Mustafa Alabd (20)
- Young Person (16)
Toronto
- Arbaaz Amir (22)
- Ngor Neli Deng Akuk Ngor (20)
- Young Person (17)
Brampton
- Young Person (15)
- Young Person (16)
- Young Person (16)
“Organized crime is calculated, well-connected, and deeply damaging to our communities. These networks prey on at-risk youth, pulling them into violent, criminal activity,” said Milinovich.
“Disrupting these operations and giving young people a way out is critical. Project Ghost reflects our unwavering commitment to both enforcement and prevention. We will not allow organized crime to take hold in Peel.”