Toronto police officers accused of leaking information to 'key' organized crime figure after corruption probe

observe unrecorded | law talk after sources say officers charged in tow-truck violence investigation

Why is there so much crime and violence in the GTA's towing industry?

How Toronto police plan to crack down on violence in the tow truck industry

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw said the news of TPS officers involved in the investigation is deeply disappointing. 

“No corner of society is immune from the reach of organized crime, but when organized crime penetrates the Toronto Police Service the harm goes far beyond the immediate wrongdoing,” said Demkiw. 

Demkiw echoed Chief MacSween’s words, saying that “corruption has no place in policing.”

Hogan named Const. Timothy Barnhardt as an officer who allegedly released private information about the victim to a man named Brian Da Costa.

Da Costa is alleged to have ties to criminal networks in the GTA and internationally. 

Three other individuals were given confidential information from “various Toronto police officers,” who were in some cases given bribes, for the purpose of crime. 

Hogan says personal property like health cards and passports were recovered during the investigation. 

Other criminal actors outside the police service were also identified and arrested for the commercial trafficking of cocaine, methamphetamine, illicit cannabis, fentanyl, heroin and oxycodone, said Hogan. Another illegal firearm was removed from the streets from a repeat offender who was already out on bail for drug trafficking.

“This is among the most complex and challenging investigations of my 28-year policing career,” he said.

Hogan says the investigation began last summer, when a conspiracy unfolded to murder a member of corrections management working at an Ontario detention centre. 

Hogan says a number of suspects attended the person’s home over a 36-hour period in York Region, allegedly with the purpose of murdering him. 

Surveillance footage shared at the news conference captured the moment that three men, masked and armed with a loaded handgun, returned to the person’s home and rammed a police cruiser that was in the driveway.

YRP Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan is now detailing the overview of the investigation. 

Over seven months, the investigation identified and disrupted serious criminal activity in the GTA, he said. Hogan said it includes a conspiracy to commit murder, shootings, extortion, robbery, drug trafficking and firearms offences. 

He says this investigation has uncovered serious corruption among police officers, and includes seven TPS officers and one retired member of TPS. 

The allegations include bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of personal property, breach of trust and the unauthorized access and distribution of confidential information.    

The news conference is off to a start with York police Chief MacSween calling it a “troubling” case. 

“This is a deeply disappointing and sad day for policing.”

He promises to hold corrupt criminals to account, especially police officers who are accused of corruption. 

“This news is both shocking and completely unacceptable. Corruption has no place in policing,” he said. 

He told residents in the GTA shaken by the news that York police are committed to transparency and justice.

Hundreds of officers with YRP and TPS were part of the investigation, which is ongoing, said MacSween. He extended gratitude to Toronto police Chief Demkiw for taking part in the difficult case.

“You can steal cars with a tow truck, [and] go pretty much unnoticed. You can smuggle drugs in the cars that you’re towing behind … there’s all kinds of things that you can do and go virtually unnoticed on the day-to-day operations of a tow truck.”

Why is there so much crime and violence in the GTA's towing industry?

The so-called tow-truck wars in the GTA have been a major issue for a number of years. 

It’s something Scott says he’s seen as far back as the 1980s and “seems to never go away.”

In 2024, there were 63 shooting incidents tied to the controversial industry.

Toronto police even launched a task force last year to crack down on a rise in violent incidents linked to towing-related disputes.

While police have remained mum so far, the Toronto Police Association confirmed several members were arrested Wednesday. 

The association said it would make sure the officer got their due process and wellness support.

Former SIU director Ian Scott said a systemic review is needed of the Toronto police and the tow-truck industry.

The only somewhat similar case he could think of was when Toronto drug squad officers were arrested for obstruction of justice over 20 years ago.

That case took about a decade to get through the courts, Scott said. He expects the same will happen with the latest charges as well. 

“It’s a huge deal. It’s virtually unprecedented in Canada,” said Scott. “The vast majority of police officers are trying to do a good job.… It’s like something out of The Sopranos.”

He’s calling for a systemic review of the Toronto police and of the tow truck industry to ensure this doesn’t happen again. 

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