TORONTO - Outfitted with an Uzi, duct tape, plastic ties, rope and balaclavas, the thugs were on the way to kidnap someone.

But unknown to the bad guys, they were being tailed by police who decided on the spot to shut down Project Nexus in mid-July to prevent what appeared to be a violent kidnapping.

The intended target -- police won't say who the victim is or where he lives -- is safe, Peel Det.-Sgt. Kieran O'Connor said Thursday.

The investigation shut down a group that imported, manufactured and sold illicit drugs on the streets.

The three-month project netted about $5.8 million, much of it ketamine, three posh vehicles, $100,000 cash and firearms, including the Uzi.

A source said one of the 29 people arrested in Nexus, Chun Siu Chan, 40, was also arrested in Project E-Paragon, a massive 2007 drug investigation spanning B.C., the U.S. and Australia, which saw the seizure of about $168 million in drugs, including 147 kilos of cocaine.

The source said the two investigations aren't connected.

"They were the manufacturers and the suppliers," O'Connor said of Project Nexus. "And they had the firepower to prove that they meant business."

Peel police received information about the crime group and later found out that York investigators had targeted some of the same suspects, O'Connor said.

Canada Border Services was brought in because it's alleged some of the drugs were imported through Pearson airport and Toronto Police joined in because that's where drugs were being distributed.

"We have one group, a main core, and the rest of them are the (people) who do the work and peddle the dope," O'Connor said. "It's a rather multicultural group."

He noted one of the group's leaders is South Asian in heritage who was born in Hong Kong and speaks fluent Cantonese.

"We got both the soldiers and the principals. We're really happy about that," Toronto Staff-Insp. Mario DiTommaso said.

While 29 suspects are now before the courts -- including Chun, Raghav Suri, 25, Brian Kemp, 32, Manjit Sethi, 47, and Yang Zhong Lin, 35, who were charged in the planned kidnapping.

Warrants were issued for two men who remain at large.

Malvin Lopez, 30, of no fixed address, and Waseem Iqbal, 37, of Mississauga, are wanted for drug and firearm related offences.