Historic seizure of guns and drugs highlights continuing criminal violence in Peel

On March 21, the nearly three-month investigation by the Peel police Vice, Narcotics and Street Level Organized Crime Bureau culminated in six consecutive raids on locations and vehicles across Peel Region and Toronto, all of them linked to one man: 35-year-old Salem Talke of Brampton.

What police discovered was one of the largest collections of weapons and drugs seized in the region’s history: Nearly 30 high-power firearms (16 handguns, four shotguns, six rifles), high-capacity magazines, 1,500 rounds of ammunition, a bullet-proof vest, and nearly eight kilograms of assorted drugs, including meth, cocaine, heroin and the deadly fentanyl, commonly found laced into other street drugs and responsible for accidental overdoses across the country. In short, a small arsenal, and $1.2 million worth of narcotics.

Peel police just nabbed almost 30 firearms, 1,500 rounds of ammunition, and narcotics with a street value of $1.2 million, in a single bust.

That’s a lot, but just a drop in the bucket compared with the yearly haul of illegal guns, which is far higher than comparable jurisdictions.

So why isn’t the region getting extra help from higher governments to deal with a flood of weapons that contributed to the growing violence in Brampton over the past couple of years?

The Full Story

Published on March 27, 2019 in The Pointer - Brampton