Latest news with #ProjectPatton
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
One of Canada's most wanted fugitive captured in Georgia after four-year manhunt
The Brief Kamar Cunningham, one of Canada's most wanted criminals, was captured in Georgia after evading authorities for four years. He was involved in Project Patton, a major investigation by Toronto Police targeting firearm smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border. Cunningham was sentenced in absentia to nine years in prison for multiple firearms-related offenses and is currently awaiting extradition to Canada. BROOKHAVEN, Ga. - One of Canada's most wanted, accused of gun smuggling among other crimes, was captured last week in Georgia after four years on the run. What we know Kamar Cunningham, a 43-year-old Canadian national, was listed as 17th on the country's top 25 list of wanted criminals. He was previously convicted in Canada for firearms trafficking and possession of prohibited or restricted firearms. He was arrested in June 2018 as part of Project Patton, a major Toronto Police investigation targeting a criminal organization involved in smuggling firearms across the U.S.-Canada border. In November 2020, he was found guilty of multiple firearms-related offenses. However, he failed to appear for his sentencing in May 2021 and was sentenced in absentia to nine years in prison. On Tuesday, ICE officials posted a photo of Cunningham in custody. What we don't know Cunningham is currently being held pending extradition to Canada. There is no word on when that will happen. The Source The details in this article come from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Atlanta and the Toronto Police Service.
CBC
09-05-2025
- CBC
Alleged Toronto gun trafficker on Canada's most wanted list arrested in U.S.
One of Canada's most wanted men, previously convicted in a Toronto firearm trafficking investigation, has been arrested in the United States after nearly four years on the run. The 43-year-old man from Toronto was located by the U.S. Marshals Service in the Atlanta region on Wednesday, Toronto police said in a news release on Friday. In 2018, Toronto police arrested the same man as part of an investigation called Project Patton for his involvement with an organized street gang called Five Point Generalz accused of trafficking firearms over the U.S. border. The operation resulted in 75 arrests and the seizure of 78 firearms, which at the time were estimated by police to have been sold for around $4,000 each in Toronto. The man was convicted in 2020 for multiple firearm trafficking offences connected with Project Patton and sentenced to nine years in custody in absentia in 2021 as he did not appear for his court date. He was put on Canada's 25 most wanted list, run by the BOLO Program, a project operated by a Canadian charity to alert the public about dangerous criminals, and a reward of up to $50,000 was being offered for information leading to his arrest. He remains in U.S. custody and is awaiting extradition to Canada, police said.
Toronto Sun
09-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Most wanted GTA gun trafficker who skipped bail is nabbed in Atlanta
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox Kamar Cunningham in February 2021. Photo by Handout / Toronto Police The fourth time was not the charm for convicted firearms trafficker Kamar Cunningham. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Cunningham, 43, who had been sprung on bail three times, was arrested by the United States Marshals in Atlanta on Wednesday and is being held pending extradition back to Canada. Each time the gun runner breached his bail … he got bail again. The Bolo Program (be on the lookout) had been offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the 43-year-old. He had been wanted on a bench warrant, a Superior Court Bench Warrant, a surety warrant and failure to comply with a release order. Cunningham was arrested in June 2018 as part of Project Patton, an investigation into a cross-border gun-smuggling ring that brought firearms from the U.S. to the streets of Canada. GOT GUNS? Kamar Cunningham in May 2018. Photo by Handout / Toronto Police On Nov. 27, 2020, Cunningham was convicted of several firearms trafficking charges. But hope springs eternal in the criminal milieu, and he was sprung on bail while awaiting sentencing. Cunningham was sentenced to nine years in prison in absentia on May 4, 2021, but by that time, he was in the wind and skipped his court date. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A Canada-wide warrant was then issued for his arrest. Cops say the convicted firearms trafficker was on bail for the third time when he skipped out on sentencing. At a March 19, 2024, press conference, Toronto Police Supt. Steve Watts told reporters that Project Patton was the largest seizure of firearms in the city's history at the time, with around 75 arrests. 'He has been released on bail three times,' Watts said of Cunningham. 'Each time he has violated his release conditions before being arrested and released on bail again … Not surprisingly, he did not appear once again for a sentencing hearing.' Handguns seized during Project Patton. Photo by Handout / Toronto Police Bolo director Maxime Langlois was puzzled as to why a convicted gun runner was out on bail, particularly after breaching three previous orders. 'This is the first time Bolo has had the displeasure of featuring a convicted criminal in a Toronto campaign,' Langlois said at the time. 'How is that even possible? … In six years of running Bolo, I've never heard such a lax application of bail by our courts.' He added: 'We're talking here about someone who had repeatedly shown a disregard for the rule of law, who had broken his bail conditions time and again, who was convicted of trafficking firearms and who, despite all this, was allowed to remain in the community.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Detectives had believed Cunningham had been hiding in plain sight in Toronto and 'continuing his criminal activities.' Cops also looked into the possibility that the Jamaican-born criminal was hiding on the Caribbean island. Watts added that the vast majority of the guns seized in GTA crimes are illegal firearms. 'Many of these weapons find their way onto our streets and find their way through illicit channels across the U.S.-Canadian border and into the hands of criminals who show absolutely no regard for human life,' he said in 2024. Police thanked the U.S. Marshals Service, Toronto Crime Stoppers and the Bolo Program for their assistance in nabbing Cunningham stateside. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Canada Sunshine Girls Canada Columnists Toronto Maple Leafs
Global News
09-05-2025
- Global News
U.S. police arrest Ontario gun trafficker on Canada's most wanted list
A wanted, convicted gun trafficker that Toronto police have been looking for has been found and arrested south of the border by American authorities. Toronto Police say Kamar Cunningham, 43, was located by the U.S. Marshals Service in the Atlanta, Ga., region on Wednesday. Cunningham was arrested as part of Project Patton in June 2018 for his involvement in an organized crime ring that trafficked firearms over the U.S. border. Seventy-five people were arrested in Project Patton, which at the time resulted in the single largest seizure of firearms in Toronto's history. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Two years later, on Nov. 27, 2020, Cunningham was convicted of several firearms trafficking charges. On May 4, 2021, he was sentenced in absentia to nine years in custody, but Cunningham did not appear for his court date. Cunningham had been released on bail for a third time and skipped his sentencing, police said at the time. Story continues below advertisement Police have been searching for Cunningham and he was put on Canada's 25 most wanted list, run by the BOLO Program. A reward of up to $50,000 was being offered for any information leading to the capture of Cunningham. Cunningham is being held pending extradition to Canada, Toronto Police said. Global News has produced two episodes about Cunningham on Crime Beat — a show that looks into some of Canada's most infamous criminal cases.
