Court documents reveal that the suspected attack on a prison official, which led to the initiation of the police corruption and organized crime investigation known as Project South, was orchestrated by individuals using fake identities on an encrypted messaging platform. Before the purported assassination attempt, the suspects reportedly utilized the Signal app to exchange private details and images of the victim, a high-ranking corrections officer at Toronto South Detention Centre whose identity is shielded by a publication ban.
These claims are detailed in a legal document submitted by Crown prosecutors in Ontario Superior Court last month. The document, based on conversations extracted from confiscated cellphones, outlines an alleged scenario where a gun-for-hire network is implicated in the planned attack.
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The investigation into Project South was launched in June 2025 following the interception of the purported hit by York Regional Police after the suspect vehicle collided with a police car stationed outside the prison official’s residence.
Initially, nearly 30 individuals were arrested in connection with Project South, including seven Toronto police officers and a retired constable. One officer, now retired, pleaded guilty last month, while one civilian’s charge was dropped.
‘Requesting the hit squad’
On June 16, 2025, just four days before the thwarted assassination attempt, Dequon Lemonious, identified by prosecutors as “Danny Phantom” on Signal, allegedly asked Median Jackson, known as “Lebron James,” to verify if a vehicle was present at a specific address. This request was made through the encrypted app.
