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A police officer stands beside police tape blocking off an area.Getty Images

Amid the city's worst period of shooting deaths in years, Toronto Police brass showcased an arsenal of seized guns on Friday to tout raids targeting a group allegedly responsible for at least two recent homicides.

Police revealed that Project Sizzle, which involved more than 600 officers forcing open doors in Rexdale and a number of downtown condo buildings early Thursday morning, was intended to dismantle a gang called Heart of a King (HOK).

"What's important here is that we've been able to eradicate an organization that uses this as their tools for doing business, " said Chief Mark Saunders, gesturing to Ziploc baggies of cocaine, more than a dozen guns, jewellery and other assorted loot seized during the project.

To his right, a poster-sized photo of a man sitting atop a white Bentley luxury sedan depicted the individual police believe leads the HOK gang, Jahmal Richardson, 31. He and 41 alleged associates have been charged with a range of gun, drug and murder charges.

Sizzle was launched on Jan. 31, in the wake of a brazen downtown shooting that killed two people and injured three bystanders outside a Chinatown restaurant.

Shortly after the shooting, police charged Kyle Sparks-Mackinnon, 26, with the homicides. In May, investigators charged Mr. Sparks-Mackinnon with a second murder – the shooting of Charles Shillingford, 25, in October, 2015 – along with three other men: Mr. Richardson, Mitchell Mannette, 20, and Denzell Desmond, 19.

On Friday, Inspector Brian Bott linked all four men to the HOK gang.

Forty-three search warrants were executed throughout the GTA and in Montreal. Investigators allege the HOK gang has ties to North Preston's Finest, a Nova Scotia street gang with a lengthy history of sex trafficking between Nova Scotia and Ontario.

According to a charge sheet provided by police, three of the people swept up in the raids hail from Nova Scotia.

Mr. Bott said the alleged leader, Mr. Richardson, goes by the street name "Bam" or "Bambino" and fronts a rap group that "promotes their criminal lifestyle."

The group has operated in Toronto's downtown core since 2010, Mr. Bott said, thriving around strip clubs and bars.

The mass arrest comes as Toronto is facing its worst bout of shooting violence in years. Statistics updated on Friday show shooting deaths are up 137.5 per cent over last year. Chief Saunders said the raids mark "a good starting point" in suppressing increased gun violence in the city.

The force has endured criticism of late for its reliance on high-profile raids featuring highly armed tactical officers. Some critics say the exercises traumatize communities and often target innocent parties.

Mr. Saunders countered those critiques in his opening remarks on Friday. "One of the things I want to mention is that this particular take-down is not an indication of this is all we do," he said. "Each and every day, I have officers who work specifically to reduce the gunplay in the city, to specifically do investigations on street gangs, so its not like we devote all our assets to one investigation."

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