Peel police say 13 alleged members of a “violent criminal network” have been arrested in connection with a series of home invasions and car thefts that resulted in victims being stabbed and shot.

Details of the investigation, dubbed Project Ghost, were announced at a news conference at Peel Regional Police headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said a combined 197 criminal charges have been laid against the 13 members of the group.

Of the 13 charged, five of the suspects are now out on bail, Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich told reporters on Tuesday.

“Imagine being asleep at your home at three o’clock in the morning, with your family, your kids, when the door explodes open and masked armed criminals break into your home and immediately begin to rob you and assault you. That was the experience for one of the families here. In fact, he and his wife were both stabbed during that incident,” he said.

“These crimes terrorize our community and they cannot be accepted.”

The investigation was first launched last year after police said two home invasions occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 1, 2024.

Det. Jeff Chamula, the major case manager for Project Ghost, said three suspects attempted to break into a home on Maybeck Drive in Brampton after targeting a BMW parked in the driveway.

Chamula said the suspects fled in a white Acura after failing to gain entry to the residence.

The same suspects then broke into a home on Boathouse Road about 30 minutes later, demanding keys to a Mercedes-Benz, Chamula said.

Despite the fact that the victims complied, the investigator said, three victims were stabbed during the home invasion. One of the victims was critically injured after a stab wound narrowly missed his heart.

The suspects subsequently fled in the same white Acura, Chamula added.

On Sept. 10, the driver of a Lamborghini was shot and seriously injured in what police described as a “targeted attack” in Mississauga. Two suspects were arrested and charged with attempted murder in that case.

“The project was able to link the shooting and home invasions to the same criminal group, along with other home invasions and luxury vehicle and jewelry thefts across Peel and Halton,” Peel police said in a news release.

“Evidence from seized phones and an accused’s statement connected the network to 13 additional incidents and identified the culprits involved.”

Police said the members of the group each had distinct roles in the criminal network, including researching residences to target and recruiting individuals to commit robberies. Other members, Chamula said, were responsible for selling stolen property that was obtained during the robberies. Adults in the organization, police said, recruited youth in the community to carry out some of the robberies.

In total, about $1.8 million worth of property was stolen, and Milinovich said about one third of that has been recovered by police.

“Organized crime is calculated, well-connected, and deeply damaging to our communities,” Milinovich said in a written statement.

“These networks prey on at-risk youth, pulling them into violent, criminal activity. Disrupting these operations and giving young people a way out is critical.”