London tow truck operators are working in fear, and don't think the city is doing enough

[TowForce]

A recent series of local incidents has exposed violence in the industry

 

Tow truck operators in the London area are seeing a marked increase in violent and targeted incidents as they watch drivers from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) expand their territory into the region. 

 

Turf wars have been the focus of multiple police investigations with officers in the GTA in recent years. Officers allege feuds have resulted in at least four murders, assaults, shootings and the torching of at least 30 tow trucks in recent years. 

 

Now, that level of violence is creeping onto London's streets, with drivers describing criminal behaviour and fear.

 

Fadi Ibrahim, the owner of London's Low Price Towing, explains how he feared for his son's life when the teenager was allegedly attacked by rival tow truck operators in the east end of the city on Nov. 7. Ibrahim said he sent one of his trucks to a collision that his son witnessed only to receive a call from him saying he'd been spat on by a rival driver, hit with a police scanner and punched multiple times. 

 

"I said don't call the police right away because they may stab you," he said.

 

Ibrahim did not call the police and would not name the rival company, fearing for his safety. He says he did call the owner to ask for an apology. 

 

"He started threatening me."

 

Two days later, two of Ibrahim's trucks were torched in his tow yard on Clarke Road. London Police continue to investigate and said the fire is being investigated as suspicious. 

 

Then, a day later, in an unrelated incident, a driver from London's Towing & 50 Auto Unlock was shot at on Adelaide Street South by two men in an RMS Towing vehicle. Five bullets hit the tailgate of the truck, and a sixth went through the rear windshield, according to police.

No injuries were reported, and police tracked the RMS truck to Oakville, where Halton Regional Police arrested and charged two men. 

 

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