Toronto cops say 20 arrested, more than 100 charges in Project Yankee

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Toronto Police have arrested 20 people and laid 111 charges as part of Project Yankee, which included the use of wire taps and targeted a tow truck crime group that called themselves “The Union.”

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Toronto Chief Myron Demkiw said Wednesday the arrests are the part of a joint forces investigation that is still ongoing and targeted the upper-echelon members of the group who were vying for control of lucrative tow-truck territory in Toronto.

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“This includes homicides, shootings, arsons, intimidation and extortion,” Demkiw said at a news conference.

Of the 111 charges laid, 52 counts are for conspiracy to commit murder.

Demkiw said that in 2024, 63 firearm discharge and shooting incidents were linked to tow truck-related disputes.

“(In 2024), they accounted for almost 13% of all shootings and firearms discharges here in Toronto,” Demkiw said. “And in 2025 these incidents have continued to occur.”

Demkiw spoke about many shootings and arson incidents in the city, including one in early March at a Scarborough pub on Progress Ave. north of the Scarborough Town Centre.

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Demkiw added that court publication bans would not allow them to get into specific details of their investigation. However, he said numerous individuals arrested are “related to directing and participating in the activities of a criminal organization.”

“And acts of violence on a mass scale were deterred and prevented,” Demkiw said.

Two handguns were also recovered along with four vehicles — three which were armour-plated Cadillacs.

Chief Supt. Joe Matthews said the seizure of the armoured SUVs is extremely “extremely uncommon” and “shows the level of sophistication” of the group.

“We are at the upper echelon. We are with the group that was organizing and hiring the acts of violence,” Matthews said. “And it is quite telling that none of them have criminal records or are before the courts. “Because they are the higher unit.”

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Matthews said that police utilized specialized units to go after these kinds of individuals.

“And the way that we go after them is through wire-tap investigations. Where we get the conversations about the planning and organizing of these violent acts,” he said.

None of the arrested are out on bail, Demkiw said.

On Monday, Peel Regional Police also dismantled a tow-truck ring operating out of Brampton and Mississauga during Project Outsource that used extortion as its main motivator in the South Asian community.

Project Outsource targeted two trucking companies — Humble and Certified Roadside — and included the arrests of 18 individuals. Seized were $4.2 million in luxury vehicles, including 18 tow trucks, as well as various weapons such as a crossbow, Taser, baseball bats and body armour. Some armour had a front patch identifier that read “Police.” Cops also seized $45,000 in cash.

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Peel Det.-Sgt. Brian Lorette, of the Extortion Investigative Task Force, said their investigation started with the extortion cases back in July 2024 and flourished, showing suspects had been staging dozens of vehicle collisions for insurance fraud purposes, plus intimidation and violence towards the South Asian business community back in 2023 and toward local tow truck operators in Peel.

“Our investigators identified a specific Brampton-based group believed to be behind a significant proportion of these crimes,” Lorette said. “As well as offences in the towing industry.”

During a news conference on Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke about the tow-truck wars and Project Yankee and a task force set up by the OPP.

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“Isn’t it shame because there are some really good, honest, hard-working tow truck drivers that are just trying to make a living,” Ford said. “And then there are some really bad dudes, and they are just bad.”

“And if they start shooting up (the streets), they need to go to jail. They need to have their tow trucks confiscated,” Ford added. “The company they are working for needs to be held accountable.”

“Get it together. I’ve never seen anything like it,” the premier added.

Those arrested as part of Project Yankee included: Abdalwahd El-Taii, 53, of Toronto; Jensikumar Joseph, 41, of Oshawa; Ahmad Faqiri, 31, of Bradford; Brandon Stock, 31, of Toronto; Farhad Zoghi-Lahmi, 41, of Richmond Hill; Talha Thanvi, 29, of Richmond Hill; Mauran Balasivam, 33, of Oshawa; Nirrosan Raviraj, 21, of Markham; Haider Eltaii, 37, of Vaughan; Alex Yizhak, 34, of Bradford; Ali Yakobi, 25, of Toronto; Igor Sayed, 23, of Toronto; Gokilan Balamurale, 24, of Markham; Anush Sathiyakumar, 19, of Toronto; Arussan Ravikumar, 21, of Markham; Sergei Manukian, 35, of Toronto; Brannan Balasegar, 23, of Toronto, and three 17-year-old male youths, including two from Toronto and one from Markham. The youths can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

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