7 Toronto police officers arrested over suspected ties to organized
crime
[February 06, 2026]
By ROB GILLIES
TORONTO (AP) — Seven Toronto police officers and one retired officer
have been arrested and charged in an organized crime investigation
involving bribery, conspiracy to commit murder and drug trafficking,
authorities said Thursday.
Police officials at a news conference said the officers had collected
personal and private information unlawfully and distributed it to
organized crime figures, in some cases for bribes, and that mobsters
then carried out shootings and other violent crimes.
“This is a painful and unsettling moment,” Toronto Police Chief Myron
Demkiw said. “When organized crime penetrates the Toronto Police
Service, the harm goes far beyond the immediate wrongdoing.”
York Police Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan said the investigation began in June
when police uncovered a murder plot involving a corrections management
employee who was being targeted by mobsters. He said the suspects had
passed information to the mobsters about the employee.
Several suspected mobsters went to the corrections manager's home for
the purpose of murdering him, but encountered a separate contingent of
police officers who were protecting the employee and who arrested the
suspected mobsters after they rammed a police car, Hogan said.
Hogan said it was the third time within 36 hours that suspects had gone
to the home, and the incident sparked the investigation that revealed
Toronto officers had accessed personal information and leaked it to
members of an organized crime group.
Investigators allege that Toronto police Const. Timothy Barnhardt gave
personal information to Brian Da Costa, a man suspected of several drug
trafficking and bribery offences who was among several suspects
allegedly seeking confidential information from officers.
“We allege that Mr. Da Costa is a key figure in a criminal network
operating within the Greater Toronto Area, with in fact significant
international ties,” Hogan said.
Toronto police officers Derek McCormick, Elias Mouawad, John Madeley Jr.
and his father, retired constable John Madeley Sr., are among those
charged in the investigation.
Toronto police officers Barnhardt, Robert Black, Saurabjit Bedi and Carl
Grellette were also charged, and were allegedly involved in bribery
schemes orchestrated by Da Costa, Hogan said.
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Toronto police service chief Myron Demkiw, left, is joined by York
regional police chief Jim MacSween, center, and YRP deputy chief
Ryan Hogan at a news conference to announce the results of 'Project
South,' a lengthy investigation into organized crime and corruption
at York Regional police headquarters in Aurora, Ont. on Thursday,
Feb. 5, 2026. (Jon Blacker /The Canadian Press via AP)
“We allege that these officers in particular were involved with Mr.
Da Costa in supporting illegal cannabis dispensaries by accepting
bribes to provide, ultimately, protection from law enforcement
investigation,” he said, adding some of the accused officers were
also allegedly involved in cocaine trafficking.
In addition to Da Costa, 18 other suspects were arrested in the
investigation, including two youths.
Demkiw said the officers who were suspected of wrongdoing have been
suspended and that he's seeking suspension without pay for at least
four of them.
York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said it was a “deeply
disappointing and sad day” for police.
“This investigation also underscores the insidious corrosive of
organized crime. It highlights how these criminals find a way even
the most well protected institutions across our society.”
Clayton Campbell, the president of Toronto's police association,
said he was disturbed by the allegations and said legal support for
members charged in criminal cases is not guaranteed and is
determined on a case-by-case basis.
“In fact, there is nothing our members or the (Toronto Police
Association) hate more than a corrupt cop,” Campbell said in a
statement.
A statement from the Toronto Police Service Board, which oversees
the police, said it has asked the inspector general to look into
issues including supervision, recruitment screening, access to
databases and more.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said residents of Toronto deserve to know
that the police officers they deal with every day can be trusted.
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