They came, they saw, and they allegedly stole everything that wasn’t nailed down.

On Thursday, cops announced that a multi-jurisdictional task force had obliterated a “highly sophisticated” retail theft gang that allegedly operated in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

One law enforcement source told The Toronto Sun that most of the alleged participants in the gang are Romanian refugees. Two of the 21 suspects have already fled the country.

Project Sommes originated with the Hamilton Police Service, and subsequently enlisted cops from Peel, York, Waterloo, and the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario. The probe was launched in August due to an explosion in retail theft.

According to cops, so far, 175 charges have been laid against the 21 suspects. The “majority” were already subject to release orders or had outstanding warrants.

Crime tourists?

HPS Deputy Chief Ryan Diodati said the gang stole “millions” in merchandise as they blitzed retail outlets (mostly Shopper’s Drug Mart.) He described the probe as “complex and far-reaching,” adding that “crime knows no borders.”

The theft ring was described as “transient” and allegedly committed well-planned, daylight raids on retailers. After a caper, police said the thieves would then meet at a Mississauga location, and the goods were shipped to AG Liquidation – a large-scale commercial liquidation warehouse in Brampton, as well as other wholesalers.

Investigators recovered a significant quantity of stolen property, with preliminary estimates valuing the items at more than $1 million. Cops also seized six vehicles.

Police said that in August, detectives from the Hamilton Police Intelligence Unit identified persons of interest connected to a series of extensive organized retail thefts targeting multiple Shoppers Drug Mart locations across the Hammer.

Cops learned that the suspects were allegedly part of an international criminal organization that had been trafficking in stolen property starting in February 2024.

Authorities claim the organization is responsible for hundreds of thefts across Ontario.

Police are now working with the Service de Police de la Ville de Montreal (SPVM), as the group is believed to have been active in the Montreal area.

On Tuesday, Hamilton Police, with the assistance of Peel Regional Police, York Regional Police and Waterloo Regional Police, executed 16 search warrants on three commercial properties, six residences and seven vehicles as part of the project.

Family ties

Investigators also learned that two of the suspects had flown to Vancouver over the weekend, where they allegedly engaged in more thieving, again targeting Shoppers Drug Mart outlets on the West Coast. Police in Vancouver arrested them and shipped them back to Ontario.

“They were all family members or close friends,” HPS Supt. Marty Schulenberg said, describing the gang, adding the Canada Border Services Agency is investigating the “(immigration) status of the individuals.”

One of the difficulties for cops over the past decade has been a freewheeling bail system. Will the accused in Project Sommes be released to commit more crimes?

“No doubt, that’s a concern,” Schulenberg said, adding that in the past, a piecemeal approach to similar investigations was a failure. Instead of the totality of charges, each crime was treated as a lone event rather than the wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that it was.

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‘Organized crime approach’

That is now changing.

“We are taking an organized crime approach, and these people are charged with participating in a criminal group, and all their charges will be heard in Hamilton.”

Most of those arrested were hit with theft charges, possession of property obtained by crime, failure to comply with probation, failure to comply with an undertaking, and commission of an offence for criminal organization, among others.

CHARGED ARE:

Vijay Aggerwal, 75, of Brampton; Stefan Bogdan, 41, of North York; Andrei Burtea, 22, of Hamilton/Vaughan, seven counts of failure to comply; Diana Burtea, 19, of Hamilton/Vaughan, also wanted for theft in Windsor, and on charges and release for theft in York, London and Essex County; Voicu Constantin, 48, of North York; Nicusor Corcoveanu, 28, of Hamilton/Vaughan, currently on charges and release for assault causing bodily harm and operation while impaired, wanted for theft in Windsor, and on charges and release for theft in London; Thi Dinh, 39, of Oakville; Aurelian-Alexandru Dragan, 37, of North York; Diana-Georgiana Dragan-Mandoiu, 34, of North York; Marieta Dragomir, 37, also wanted in Waterloo, Halton, Windsor, Niagara and Windsor; Florin Dragomir, 46, of Hamilton/Vaughan; Alexandru Iordache, 33, of North York; Chiara Strassl, 21; Andreea-Alina Toma, 20, of Hamilton/Vaughan; Claudia Toma, 19, of Vaughan; George Toma, 45, of Vaughan; Raluca-Madalina Veliscu, 31, of North York; Van Phuc Vu, 29, of Mississauga; two boys, 15 and 17, of Hamilton/Vaughan, and a 16-year-old Vaughan girl.

Funding was provided by the Ontario Government, Ministry of the Solicitor General, in which the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario supported this investigation.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact the Hamilton Police Intelligence Unit at 905-546-3810 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit your anonymous tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

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