Latest news with #AliMallah
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
OPP lay charges against 5 GTA men after $2.3M in contraband tobacco seized
More than $2.3 million in contraband tobacco has been seized and five GTA men charged following a 16-month-long OPP investigation. In January 2024, the OPP Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team (CTET) began a probe into the suspected trafficking of contraband tobacco, including shisha tobacco and contraband cigarettes, by a GTA network. On July 4, 2024, CTET executed three search warrants in the GTA that led to the seizure of more than 800 kilos of shisha tobacco, more than 16,000 contraband cigarettes, and $30,000 in Canadian currency. The tobacco seized has an estimated street value of more than $90,000. On Oct. 24, 2024, 16 search warrants were executed in Brantford, Burlington, Mississauga, Vaughan and Scarborough and about 19,000 kilos of contraband tobacco, valued at $2.3 million, was seized, as well as electronic devices. Ali Mallah, 58, of Toronto, was arrested in November 2024 and charged with trafficking contraband tobacco. In April of this year, four more individuals — Omar Omran, 25, of Scarborough, Nael Alwarasaneh, 36, of Burlington, and Abdelrahman Hasan, 28, and Saif Hasan, 20, both of Brantford — were charged with trafficking contraband tobacco. The accused were released from custody and are to appear June 9 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto. Project FORTE Charge List
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Brantford men charged in multi-million-dollar contraband tobacco operation
A cache of seized contraband tobacco is seen in this image. (OPP) The investigation into a multi-million dollar contraband tobacco operation has resulted in four more arrests. Ontario Provincial Police said Abdelrahman Hasan, 28, and Saif Hasan, 20, both from Brantford, were arrested in April 2025, along with Omar Omran, a 25-year-old from Scarborough, and Nael Alwarasaneh, a 36-year-old from Burlington. All four were charged with trafficking contraband tobacco. According to media release sent out on Friday, the OPP's Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team (CTET) began investigating 'a network of individuals based in the GTA' in January 2024. Then, on July 4 of that same year, they executed three search warrants in the GTA. OPP said they seized more than 800 kilograms of shisha tobacco, more than 16,000 contraband cigarettes and $30,000 in Canadian cash. The street value of the tobacco was estimated at around $90,000. Contraband tobacco bust Ontario police say they've seized $2.3 million worth of illegal shisha and cigarettes. (OPP) Another 16 search warrants were conducted in Brantford, Burlington, Mississauga, Vaughn and Scarborough on Oct. 24. In that bust, OPP said they found 19,000 kilograms of contraband tobacco, with an estimated street value of $2.3 million. They also seized a number of electronic devices. A Toronto man, 58-year-old Ali Mallah, was charged with trafficking contraband tobacco in November 2024.
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Ontario police seize $2.3 million worth of contraband shisha tobacco, cigarettes
Ontario police say they've seized $2.3 million worth of illegal shisha and cigarettes from a contraband tobacco trafficking network that was allegedly operating in the Greater Toronto Area. In a news release issued Friday, Ontario Provincial Police said they began their 16-month 'intelligence-led' investigation in Jan. 2024, in collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Finance. Police executed three search warrants in the GTA on July 4 of last year and seized $90,000 worth of contraband tobacco, including 800 kilograms of shisha and 16,000 cigarettes. Police also seized $30,000 worth of Canadian currency. Ontario Provincial Police tobacco seizure A cache of seized contraband tobacco is seen in this image. (OPP) Sixteen additional search warrants were executed on Oct. 24 in Brantford, Burlington, Mississauga, Vaughan and Scarborough and resulted in the seizure of roughly 19,000 kilograms of contraband tobacco. The seized tobacco has an estimated value of $2.3 million, police said. Toronto resident Ali Mallah, 58, was the first to be arrested in connection with the investigation in November. He was charged with trafficking contraband tobacco. Four additional suspects were arrested in April, including Omar Omran, 25, of Toronto, Nael Alwarasaneh, 36, of Burlington, Abdelrahman Hasan, 28, of Brantford, and Saif Hasan, 20, of Brantford. They each face a charged of trafficking contraband tobacco. All of the accused were released from custody and are scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on Monday.
