TORONTO [Peter Paul Media] — Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the man at the centre of recent violence in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, between security forces and those loyal to the purported drug lord, have links to Toronto, according to a police raid conducted in May.
In the early morning hours of May 6, over 1,000 police officers from 36 tactical units executed 105 search warrants throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa, which resulted in 71 arrests, the Toronto Police Service said in a news release.
Ten firearms, $30,000 in cash, diamonds, cocaine, hashish oil, and Ecstasy pills, were among the items seized by police. Among the 71 people arrested, there were four minors.
Each of the minors were charged with Conspiracy to commit indictable offence and Participation in a criminal organization. A total of 457 charges were filed against the 71 suspects, police said.
Police are seeking an additional 24 people in relation to the police raids — dubbed Project Corral — which began in August 2009 under the direction of the Guns and Gangs Task Force.
“The investigation identified members of the Falstaff Crips and the Five Point Generals. They allegedly trafficked in cocaine and marijuana at street level and were responsible for firearms trafficking and possession of firearms between various gang members,” Toronto Police said.
“As a result of the investigation into the Falstaff Crips and the Five Point Generals, it emerged that members of the Shower Posse were allegedly controlling gangs within Toronto.”
The investigation further revealed that the Shower Posse, purportedly led by Coke, “were allegedly responsible for a significant part of the drug trade, not only in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, but as far north as Sault Ste. Marie, west to Windsor and east to Ottawa.”
The homicides of Aeron Grant, 19, in 2009 and Tyrell Duffus, 22, in 2010, are also related to Project Corral, police said.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently indicted Coke on a charge of Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Cocaine in a period beginning in 1994 to October 2007.
Unrest began in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, on Sunday, after authorities said they would extradite Coke to the U.S. to face charges. Authorities have been engaged in endless gun battles at Coke’s compound but have failed to capture him.
After four days of fighting, 44 people have died and hundreds more have been injured. Currently, a state of emergency is in affect for the West Kingston and St. Andrews parishes of Jamaica.
Peter Paul Media 