Toronto soldiers arrested on kidnapping, weapons theft and organized crime charges

The 7th Toronto Regiment - Royal Canadian Artillery - fire off a 21-gun salute at Canada Day celebrations at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland/Toronto Sun/Postmedia

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Two Toronto soldiers have been removed from their military duties and blocked from using their base or army equipment since they were arrested this past August on charges related to organized crime, kidnapping and theft of guns and weapons, the Department of National Defence confirmed late Friday.

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Sachintha Fernando and James Moreau are members of the 7th Toronto Regiment, a reserve artillery unit based at Moss Park Armoury in Toronto.

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“We are aware that both individuals were arrested by the Toronto Police Service on August 11, 2026, on charges related to organized crime, kidnapping, and the theft of firearms and weapons,” National Defence spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin wrote in an email sent late Friday in response to questions the Post posed last Monday about the two soldiers.

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Both men are bombardiers, a rank in the artillery branch that’s equivalent to corporal.

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“Bombardier Fernando enrolled in the Canadian Army as a Reservist in January 2020. He has not deployed on a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operation,” Poulin said.

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“Bombardier Moreau enrolled in the Canadian Army as a Reservist in March 2018 and deployed on Operation LASER in 2020.”

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That operation was the Canadian military’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“Following their arrests, both individuals were removed from military duties and their access to CAF equipment, facilities, and bases was restricted,” Poulin said.

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“They remain members of the CAF pending the outcome of an administrative review. An administrative review is a formal process used to assess matters that may affect a member’s continued service while providing procedural fairness.”

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The Army is supporting “the Toronto Police Service’s ongoing investigation,” Poulin said.

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The Toronto police was not able to immediately provide more details on the case late Friday.

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One source said both soldiers have taught new recruits at Ontario’s CFB Borden.

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