Project Sledgehammer smashes weapons trade in Peel Region

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Peel Regional Police have hammered down on gun crime with a large seizure of weapons.

Peter Gabriel may not know it, but Peel Regional Police listened to his hit song Sledgehammer during an investigation that ended with the arrest of five individuals, 150 charges laid and the seizure of weapons, ammo, prohibited magazines, drugs and a little known device that effectively turns handguns into automatic machine pistols.

Det.-Sgt. Chris Fiore said what stood out in the seizures was the heavy weaponry, the “submachine gun and the assault rifles.

“And that piggybacks on to the selector switches, which make the handguns fully automatic and very dangerous,“ said Fiore.

During the seizure, police confiscated 53 of these automatic selectors — or “giggle switches” — that can convert a Glock handgun from semi-automatic to a fully automatic machine pistol just by attaching a little metal clip to the rear of the handgun.

A single pull of the trigger will empty the entire magazine in less than a second.

Of those seized in their bust, most had the Glock logo laser-printed on them, while others had fashion trademarks like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and even the comic book character The Punisher embossed on them.

Media outlets in the U.S. have reported that the “cheap” illegal switches are being purchased through unlicensed manufacturers in Russia or China or made on 3-D printers.

A video posted online shows an ATF officer in Houston firing off 30 bullets in 2.3 seconds from a Glock handgun outfitted with an oversized magazine and switch.

Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said this year his service has seized more weapons than in any other year before.

“On average, we are seeing an illegal firearm seized by our officers every 30 hours,” said Duraiappah. “This isn’t exclusive to the Peel area, but to the the GTA and the province itself.

“And the number of shootings we’ve seen here in Peel are more than we have ever seen previously.”

So far, 157 weapons have been seized this year. Duraiappah said about 90% of the illegally traced handguns being seized are coming into the area from the U.S.

A routine traffic stop that turned up a firearm lead to police initiating Project Sledgehammer, which ran from July to September and targeted a group of suspects involved in weapons and drug trafficking in Peel Region and elsewhere across the GTA.

The culmination of Project Sledgehammer saw five residential search warrants issued by police in Peel, Waterloo and York regions and the RCMP in the GTA seizing 11 firearms, 32 prohibited magazines, more than 900 rounds of ammunition, 53 Glock selector switches, drugs and jewelry. There were 150 charges laid as well.

Peel police identified those charged as Navdeep Nagra, 20; Ravneet Nagra, 22; Narinder Nagra, 61; Ranveer Araich, 20; and Pavneet Nahal, 21, all from Brampton. They face multiple weapons, proceeds of crime, possession for the purpose of trafficking and failing to comply with release orders charges.

Police said two of the five are still in custody — police would not say who — while three are out on bail.

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