Alleged Toronto gun trafficker on Canada's most wanted list arrested in U.S.
Man, 43, located in Atlanta on Wednesday, Toronto police say
One of Canada's most wanted men, previously convicted in a Toronto firearm trafficking investigation, has been arrested in the United States after nearly four years on the run.
The 43-year-old man from Toronto was located by the U.S. Marshals Service in the Atlanta region on Wednesday, Toronto police said in a news release on Friday.
In 2018, Toronto police arrested the same man as part of an investigation called Project Patton for his involvement with an organized street gang called Five Point Generalz accused of trafficking firearms over the U.S. border.
The operation resulted in 75 arrests and the seizure of 78 firearms, which at the time were estimated by police to have been sold for around $4,000 each in Toronto.
The man was convicted in 2020 for multiple firearm trafficking offences connected with Project Patton and sentenced to nine years in custody in absentia in 2021 as he did not appear for his court date.
He was put on Canada's 25 most wanted list, run by the BOLO Program, a project operated by a Canadian charity to alert the public about dangerous criminals, and a reward of up to $50,000 was being offered for information leading to his arrest.
He remains in U.S. custody and is awaiting extradition to Canada, police said.