The arrests came too late for Pawanpreet Kaur.
The 21-year-old Brampton woman was shot to death Saturday night outside the Mississauga gas station where she worked.
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Thirty-six hours later, Toronto cops were announcing a massive illegal firearms bust that took enough death-dealing hardware off the street to start a small revolution.
The origin of the gun used to kill her is, at this point, unknown.
Of the 58 traceable guns seized by investigators from the guns and gangs task force, 57 had crossed the U.S. border via the Iron Highway, from Texas and Arizona. Just one was from Canada, a stolen legal handgun.
And among the AR-15’s and AK-type guns, there was not a single hunting rifle.
“This is not a good news story,” Toronto Police Chief James Ramer told reporters, citing the country’s three-year homicide spike.
The chief offered props to the “root causes” crowd, saying that piece was “beyond the scope of policing.”
But Ramer also said bail should be tightened for high-risk criminals. He wants bids for bail on behalf of anyone accused of firing a gun in a nightclub, a bar or a city park treated the same as they are in cases where someone faces a charge of first-degree.
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Led by members of the Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, Project Barbell was an ambitious eight-month initiative, targeting illegal firearms trafficking in the GTA.
In May, investigators conducted search warrants for “addresses and vehicles associated with the involved parties.” The result was six arrests, 260 criminal charges laid, and evidence seized included 62 firearms.
Most of the weapons were Glocks that each sell on the street from between $4,500 to $6,000.
“It is about return on investment,” Supt. Steve Watts said. “If you are paying under $1,000, which you would be paying in the U.S., and you can turn that into $6,000 (upon resale), you are looking at about $5,000 profit per item.”
According to cops, the suspected overlords were Syed Mohammed Ali Zaidi, 27, and Michael Simpson, 29. Also charged were Zaidi’s alleged gal pal, Syeda Tirmizi, 27, and Shaheen Abdul, 62.
In addition to a mountain of firearm-related charges, Zaidi was also hit with a number of charges related to a reckless shooting incident that occurred in October 2021 in a crowded Queen St. W. watering hole.
Two BMWs that had allegedly been stolen were also recovered. They had been fraudulently registered with the Ministry of Transportation. Cops also seized ammo, overcapacity firearm magazines and proceeds of crime.
There are two distinct messages emanating from the battle for gun control. One, fronted by the feds, is that all guns are bad, doesn’t matter whether they’re legal or illegal.
Cops are more nuanced. Watts dryly noted of the haul of weaponry: “Only one was legal.”
Hunting rifles? “No.”
The Liberal government? They will tell you otherwise. No, it’s really Jimmy Smith in Sioux Lookout who is driving the homicide and shooting spike.
We know this to be wrong. We know that 95% of the guns used in shootings and murders are imported from the U.S.
As this is written, there are no doubt a slew of vehicles pointed north towards the Canadian border. They are packing iron and if the odds are working in their favour, they’ll slip through.
And somewhere, the next Pawanpreet Kaur is blissfully unaware that tomorrow could be her last day in this vale of tears.
Of course, the illegal guns coming over the border to deliver bloodshed and misery don’t fit the current government’s narrative.
And Pawanpreet Kaur? Apparently, neither does she.
The suspects will appear in court on Friday.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun