Massive Toronto police raid targets aparment tied to Rob Ford crack video scandal

Toronto police executed a series of pre-dawn raids that targeted the guns and drugs trade on Thursday, a massive operation that included sending at least a dozen heavily-armed officers into an apartment complex tied to Mayor Rob Ford's drug video allegations.

Police announced that approximately 30 warrants were executed during the early-morning operation, which had been nicknamed Project Traveller.

A large force of officers were seen entering an apartment at 320 Dixon Rd., where two 17^th floor units have been connected to the storage of an alleged video of an inebriated Ford smoking from a pipe and making off-colour comments.

The Toronto Star reports that police also searched the home of one young man pictured with Ford in photograph taken outside a nearby home reputed to be a drug den and tied to an attempt to sell news organizations a video of the mayor allegedly smoking from a crack pipe. A box of documents and other seized evidence, including a laptop computer, was wheeled out of the home.

Muhammad Khattak had been shot during a downtown attack in March that left another man, Anthony Smith, dead.

A man who had recently travelled to Alberta was arrested by Ft. McMurray police late last month and charged in his murder.

It is not clear why police chose to name the massive bust Project Traveller.

Chief William Blair is expected to speak to the media at a noon press conference.