Four Bahamians arrested in Canadian gang bust

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Four Bahamians arrested in Canadian gang bust

This undated photo shows a Hamilton police officer (Twitter/@HamiltonPolice)

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune staff reporter

[email protected]

FOUR people from the Bahamas are among 20 people Canadian police have arrested as part of an investigation into a street gang believed to have close ties to a gang from the Bahamas.

Eric Hilton Stuart, 35, Robert Mader, 41, Devon Deon Laing, 29, and Rashad Cooper, 36, are among those arrested, according to Canadian news organizations.

Three of the men were already wanted for crimes in the Bahamas: Laing is wanted for attempted murder, Cooper for breaching bail and Stuart for possession of dangerous drugs.

The investigation led to 172 charges. In addition, 14 firearms, 880 grams of cocaine and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl were seized.

According to CBC, a Canadian news outlet, the investigation focused on a street gang from Hamiliton called “Hot Mali Squad.”

Hamilton police alleged the gang had ties to “drug trafficking, robberies, daytime shootings and murders.”

Hamilton police have seen a record increase in shootings, with 58 so far this year.

The gang is said to have ties to ‘Dirty South’, a faction of the Bahamas-based street gang One Order.

“Tackling this violent street gang was critical in addressing the wave of shootings in Hamilton because this group operated at the epicenter of gun violence and fueled fear, instability and harm in the community,” Chief Frank Bergen said, according to CBC .

On November 13, 2024, with the assistance of the Halton Regional Police Service, Niagara Regional Police Service, London Police Service, Peel Regional Police Service, OPP and Waterloo Regional Police, executed 17 search warrants as part of the project. Warrants were executed in Hamilton, Niagara Falls, St Catharines and London.

The charges include trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, domestic violence, conspiracy to commit a criminal offense, theft, proceeds of crime over $5,000 and utter menacing.