Four Mississauga men are among 28 people facing multiple charges after police disrupted an off-shore sportsbook operation in Ontario.

Up to 18 organizations and policing agencies launched a massive investigation — Project Hobart — into criminal organizations and their illegal gaming enterprises which led to the arrest of 28 men in Mississauga, London, Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Oakville, King City, Burlington, Woodbridge, Milton, Oshawa, Etobicoke, Petersburg, Vaughan, Stoney Creek, and Scarborough.

Police say the 28 men are all linked as members of known criminal organizations. They face a combined total of 228 charges.

At a press conference on Dec. 19, Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Thomas Carrique was joined by Chief Superintendent Paul Beesley, Canadian Revenue Agency executive director Stéphane Bonin, and other representatives from several partner agencies to reveal the outcome of a complex investigation involving several jurisdictions.

“Criminal organizations and the hallmarks of their illegal enterprises — gun violence, deaths, assaults and the extraordinary amount of money that fuel further criminal acts continue to threaten public safety,” Carrique said. “Police and partner agencies will continue to fully collaborate and aggressively target the ring leaders, their associates, and their lavish criminal lifestyle to make our cities and towns safer.”

The investigation began January 2018 following an escalation of violence in Ontario and Quebec, including attempted murders, arsons, extortion threats, shootings, and assaults from August 2017 to May 2018.

It targeted an illegal gaming criminal organization allegedly controlled by three known members — including Craig McIlquham of Oakville, Robert Barletta of London, and Eugenio Reda of King City and one prospect of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang, Raffaele Simonelli of Mississauga.

During the investigation at a land-based gaming house in Mississauga, police identified five sophisticated illegal gaming websites controlled by the three members. The website names are Ultimate SB, Titan SB, PlaytoWin SB, Privada SB, and Players SB.

The sportsbook associated with the Hells Angels brought in approximately $13 million in gaming revenue between Jan. 1, 2019 and July. The investigation suggests sportsbooks have been in operation for more than five years and brought in gross revenues of more than $131 million.

Police linked the operators of the illegal gaming organization to the Figliomeni crime family as unveiled in July 2019 by York Regional Police.