The Hot Mali Squad has been connected to various types crimes. Photo Credit: Hamilton Police Service
Hamilton Police Service, Halton Regional Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, and Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario recently announced that they have made 25 arrests as part of an investigation called Project Churchill that targeted a Hamilton-based street gang.
The gang, called the Hot Mali Squad, has been connected to drug trafficking, robberies, daytime shootings, and even multiple homicides.
Police say that the group is Hamilton-based but has been expanding to other regions such as Brantford, Halton, Waterloo, and Toronto.
They add that, since 2019, police noted a significant rise in violent crime in the downtown core and linked that rise to the street gang.
The crackdown comes as the City of Hamilton experiences a record increase in shootings, with 60 incidents so far this year.
“Targeting this violent street gang was crucial in addressing the surge in Hamilton shootings because this group acted at the epicentre of gun violence, fueling fear, instability, and harm in the community,” said Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen.
Hamilton Police say that the Hot Mali Squad built strong links with another gang called the Dirty South which operates in the Greater Toronto Area.
The Dirty South is a faction of a Bahamas-based street gang known as One Order.
Dirty South members are reportedly involved in the smuggling and distributing of illegal firearms obtained in the United States.
As a result of the investigation, 17 search warrants were executed in Hamilton, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and London.
A total of 25 people were arrested, 172 charges were laid, and 14 firearms, 880 grams of cocaine, and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl were seized.
There were 13 Hamiltonians arrested in the investigation, five people from London, Ontario, four people from the Bahamas, two people from St. Catharines, and one person from Miami.
The 13 Hamiltonians are Moustapha Abdallah, 20, Abi Abdullahi-Salah, 24, Issa Bechir, 24, Sirak Solomon Eskias, 22, Dushaun Gray, 30, Yared Kidane, 18, Cathy Mingo, 62, Nawal Mohammed, 18, Ahmed Osman, 20, Mazin Sharaf, 22, Sabrina Waite, 29, Filimon Embafrash Weldearegay, 24, and an unnamed 17-year-old female.
Police say that Corey Salter, 39, of Hamilton remains wanted.
Of the suspects arrested who are from the Bahamas, three of them are wanted for crimes in that country and were reportedly in Canada on refugee or asylum status.
Notable incidents involving the Hot Mali Squad include an October 2019 shooting outside Boulevard Billiards where one of their alleged associates was shot and killed, a September 2021 shooting where another alleged associate was shot and killed outside a Tim Hortons at Caroline and King Streets, a September 2021 shooting where members shot and killed a rival gang associate at Cannon and Barnesdale, and a December 2023 homicide where one of their alleged associates was shot and killed at Queen and York.
Police say that Hot Mali Squad is also responsible for a number of incidents earlier this year including three shootings.
Those include a February 2024 shooting outside California Dream Lounge, a June 2024 daytime shootout at 111 Market Street, and a June 2024 shooting at King and MacNab streets.
Hamilton’s Deputy Police Chief Ryan Diodati says, “The brazen nature of these shootings reflects a troubling trend: firearms are increasingly in the hands of criminals, fueling a reckless disregard for human life. The indiscriminate and frequent use of guns not only endangers our community but also underscores the urgent need to address the sources of this deadly supply.”
Meanwhile, Lee Fulford, the Acting Detective Superintendent of the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, emphasized that the firearms seized in the investigation are “crime guns.”
“They are not firearms legally obtained by responsible gun owners. They are obtained illegally with the intent to be used in criminal offences or trafficked to people who intend to use them in criminal offences,” he emphasized.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
