An eight-month investigation conducted by a southern Ontario police service has resulted in 10 arrests and 128 criminal charges that dismantled a “violent criminal network” linked to carjackings and luxury vehicle thefts across the Toronto region.
Peel Regional Police launched Project High Guard in March to investigate a string of 21 violent auto thefts and carjackings between June 2025 and April 2026, Det. Sgt. Earl Scott told reporters during an Oct. 19 press conference.
“Some of these events left victims with severe injuries,” Scott said. “Culprits brandished knives, firearms, and utilized violent physical assaults during the carjackings.”
Police played a video documenting a carjacking that unfolded in Brampton last summer that showed several assailants attacking the driver of a Rolls Royce outside a business.
“The victim suffered physical injuries as a result of this attack,” Scott said. “And this video demonstrates the violence used in these offences and the danger faced by the victims and how quickly these incidents can occur and escalate.”
Authorities carried out a series of raids across the region on Sept. 3, confiscating 15 stolen vehicles worth an estimated at $1.4 million in addition to weapons, drugs, and vehicle reprogramming devices, Scott said. Among the seized vehicles was one that had been prepared for shipment out of the Port of Montreal.
The raids also resulted in the arrests of eight men and two youths who police allege are responsible for the criminal network carrying out the thefts and carjackings.
“The 10 people we’ve arrested, we believe that they are the ones responsible for this network,” Scott said.
Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said his investigators “successfully worked up the chain” to identify suspects who are believed to be responsible for carrying out the robberies, “but also the individuals alleged to have directed and benefitted from them.”
Networks like these include various players with distinct roles, Scott said. Some members hunt down vehicles, some orchestrate the robberies, and others execute the crimes. There are also recruiters enlisting young people to carry out the crimes and members who manage the distribution and sale of stolen automobiles.
The individuals range in age from 17 to 37 and face an array of charges, including robbery, aggravated assault, grand theft auto, participating in a criminal organization, and failure to comply with release orders.
Nineteen-year-old Halton Hills resident Tayvien Coley is facing 44 charges, the highest number of all of those arrested.
Twenty-one-year-old Brampton resident Shan Dhindsa is facing 20 charges, 20-year-old Caledon resident Ekamveer Randhawa is subject to 19 charges, and a 17-year-old from Brampton has been charged with 17 offences.
Two other Brampton residents, Aryan Deol, 20, and Manavjot Dhaliwal, 24, are facing 10 charges and eight charges respectively, while Parth Sharma, 21, of Oakville is subject to four charges, and a 17-year-old youth from Mississauga has been charged with three offences.
Madhumeet Randhawa of Brampton and Gregory Seniv of Mississauga, both 37, are dealing with one and two charges respectively.
Neither of the teens charged can be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Duraiappah told reporters vehicle thefts across Peel Region have declined more than 50 percent since reaching their highest point in 2023, with an additional 10 percent reduction recorded so far throughout 2026.
He said there has also been a 64 percent reduction in carjackings across the Peele region.
“These are significant trends and the public needs to know that we’re heading in the right way,” the chief said. “While we are making progress, more work needs to be done. Behind every theft or carjacking is not just the victim, but a family, the business community, and broader community and a sense of safety that is being impacted.”
Police said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators with the Peel Regional Police Central Robbery Bureau.
Friends Read Free
Copy
Facebook
Tweet
