Project Sommes Interrupts Retail Organized Crime Theft Group
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Hamilton Police Service, in partnership with Peel Regional Police, Waterloo Regional Police, York Regional Police, and the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario, is announcing the results of Project Sommes.
Launched in August 2025, Project Sommes was initiated in response to a growing trend of organized retail thefts occurring across the province and nationwide.
In August 2025, investigators 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 Hamilton.
Further investigation and background analysis revealed that these individuals were part of a criminal organization responsible for large-scale retail thefts and the trafficking of stolen property throughout Ontario, Quebec and British Colombia dating back to February 2024.
Investigators confirmed that the stolen property was being trafficked by the criminal organization to a male from Mississauga, who then distributed the goods to AG Liquidation - a large-scale commercial liquidation warehouse in Brampton, as well as other wholesalers.
Hamilton Police Service alleges the organized crime group is responsible for hundreds of thefts across Ontario and continues to investigate additional incidents linked to the group. Police are also working with the Service de Police de la Ville de Montreal (SPVM), as the group is believed to have been active in Montreal and the surrounding area.
On December 16, 2025, Hamilton Police, with the assistance of Peel Regional Police Service, York Regional Police Service, Waterloo Regional Police Service, executed 16 search warrants on three commercial properties, six residences and seven vehicles as part of the project.
In addition, Hamilton Police received information that two of the suspects had flown to Vancouver over the weekend and are alleged to have engaged in a crime spree targeting Shopper’s Drug Mart locations in Vancouver and surrounding areas. With the assistance of the Vancouver Police Department, the suspects were arrested and will be transported back to Hamilton.
As a result of Project Sommes, 21 individuals face charges and 175 charges laid. The majority of the suspects were already subject to release orders or had outstanding warrants. During the execution of search warrants, investigators recovered a significant quantity of stolen property, with preliminary estimates valuing the items at more than $1 million, as well as seizing six vehicles.
The successful completion of