Peel Regional Police have announced to the public their nine-month undercover operation that dismantled a firearms trafficking ring feeding illegal guns into the Greater Toronto Area.

Dubbed “Project Red Zone”, the investigation ran from October 2025 to July 2026 and was carried out by Peel's Specialized Enforcement Bureau alongside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario. By the time it wrapped, police had seized:

• 23 firearms
• 824.75 grams of cocaine
• More than 950 rounds of ammunition

Here's the detail that should alarm every GTA resident: 15 of those 23 guns were smuggled in from the United States, flowing straight across the border into criminal hands in the Toronto area. Several of the seized weapons are outright prohibited under Canadian law. Forensic analysis tied the guns to 14 separate shootings across the GTA — and one weapon was directly linked to a March 2024 homicide in Mississauga that left one man dead and another seriously injured.

Four people have now been arrested and charged as a result:

• Stephen Prakash Consala, 24, of Scarborough — 23 counts of firearms trafficking, trafficking ammunition, 9 counts of trafficking a controlled substance, and failing to comply with a release order
• Akshaya Srikanthan, 24, of Ajax — 11 counts of firearms trafficking and 7 counts of trafficking a controlled substance
• Janoj Dhayabaran, 23, of Toronto — 3 counts of firearms trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking
• Sammy Shaik, 28, of Mississauga — trafficking ammunition

Consala and Dhayabaran remain in custody pending a bail hearing. Srikanthan and Shaik have already been released and are set to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice at a later date.

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Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich called it a win for "intelligence-led policing," crediting cross-border cooperation for taking dangerous weapons off the street. Peel Police say they've now seized 125 crime guns so far this year alone.

Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich, Peel Regional Police is quoted:

This investigation demonstrates the value of intelligence-led policing and the importance of collaboration across jurisdictions. The illegal firearms trade is increasingly interconnected, requiring law enforcement agencies to work together, share intelligence, and coordinate enforcement efforts. Through these partnerships, we can remove dangerous weapons from our streets and enhance community safety.

The investigation was funded through the Ontario Government's Ministry of the Solicitor General, with support from Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario.

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