A B.C. man who fought extradition to the U.S. for years has now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, ecstasy and cocaine.
James Gregory Cameron, 51, worked with a group of B.C. smugglers to fly drugs across the border using helicopters more than a decade ago.
He was identified through a U.S. law-enforcement undercover operation that began in 2007, and was indicted in 2009.
Cameron lost several B.C. court rounds as he fought his extradition on the grounds that his health issues, including diabetes, couldn’t be properly managed in a U.S. prison.
And he argued before the B.C. Supreme Court and B.C. Court of Appeal that the U.S. waited too long — three years after his indictment — before applying to have Cameron sent to Washington state.
He asked the courts to set aside a decision by the Minister of Justice to surrender him to the Americans for prosecution.
Last April, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected Cameron’s request for leave to appeal an earlier B.C. court ruling that the minister had not made an unreasonable decision to turn him over for trial.
Cameron was finally sent to the U.S. in May, where he entered a not-guilty plea in a U.S. courtroom. He appeared to change his mind July 25, when the date was fixed for his change-of-plea hearing Wednesday. He entered the guilty plea before U.S. Federal Court Judge James Donahue. His sentencing hearing is set for November.
U.S. court documents said Cameron acted as a negotiator on behalf of the cross-border, drug-trafficking organization and was responsible for organizing the transport and delivery of ecstasy and pot to the U.S., where it would be exchanged for cocaine and transported back to Canada.
In early 2008 “Cameron explained to a prospective customer that the men who made the decisions about the drugs sales were two brothers, one of whom was then in prison.”
Cameron was indicted along with several other B.C. men, all of whom have now pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
In June, Colin Hugh Martin was sentenced to seven years for supplying the helicopters used by the drug gang. He had also waged a lengthy and unsuccessful court battle against his extradition.
Co-accused Sean Doak pleaded guilty in 2016 and was also handed a seven-year term. Adam Christian Serrano pleaded guilty in 2013 in Seattle and received a three-year sentence.
Another B.C. man involved, Sam Lindsay-Brown, hanged himself in the Spokane County Jail after flying into a law-enforcement trap in 2009. U.S. agents met him as he landed a helicopter outside the city. Another pilot in the ring, Jeremy Snow, was caught flying drugs into Idaho in March 2009. After serving a 46-month sentence, he returned to Kelowna, where he was shot to death in February 2013.
During the U.S. investigation, agents seized more than 240,000 ecstasy pills, 175 kilograms of cocaine and 358 kilos of marijuana from the B.C. drug gang. The seizures took place in Washington state, Idaho, Utah, California and Nelson.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.</p
A man convicted of murder in a 2006 baseball bat beating death at a Surrey crack shack has lost his appeal.
Khalid Damien Arnaout had argued on appeal that the jurors should have concluded that the late gangster Kevin LeClair was the assailant who beat David Mitchell to death over a $400 drug debt.
But a B.C. Appeal Court panel of three judges rejected Arnaout’s arguments and dismissed his appeal.
Justice Daphne Smith said the jurors’ conclusion that Arnaout was guilty of second-degree murder was reasonable based on the evidence at the 2016 trial.
“It was open to the jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant committed the offence,” Smith said in written reasons released Thursday.
Arnaout’s lawyer also argued that the trial judge failed to give proper instructions to the jury.
Smith also rejected that position.
“The jury charge reviewed the evidence and theories of the Crown and the appellant such that the jury was able to fully appreciate the issues of identity and intent,” Smith said.
Appeal Court Justices Mary Newbury and David Harris agreed.
Mitchell, 25, was beaten in the drug house on Ravine Road on Oct. 26, 2006. He died two days later in hospital.
Arnaout was charged with murder in the cold case in November 2014. Three others faced manslaughter counts. One co-accused was convicted. Two others were acquitted.
A key Crown witness against Arnaout was Gerald Desjarlais, who was at the house when Mitchell was beaten and pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.
Desjarlais testified that on the day of the beating, he overheard a phone conversation between LeClair and one of the co-accused, “during which Mr. LeClair said that he wanted to have Mitchell found, beaten up and ‘taxed’ for a debt of $400,” Smith noted in her ruling.
“Later that evening, Mr. Desjarlais drove himself and the three co-accused to the drug house. Mr. LeClair went in a separate vehicle, as did two others.”
The witness said Arnaout was the first one through the front door, picked up a black aluminum baseball bat and found Mitchell in another room.
“Desjarlais said he heard the bat connect with Mr. Mitchell’s head, which he described as making `a real loud knock,’ and then saw Mr. Mitchell fall face down onto the floor with his arms by his side,” Smith said.
Arnaout was yelling “where’s my f — king money,” Desjarlais told the jurors.
He agreed that LeClair, who was gunned down by the United Nations gang in 2009, was present during the attack.
“After the attack, the group gathered at the home of one of the co-accused, where Mr. LeClair instructed Mr. Desjarlais and the others not to say anything about what had happened,” Smith noted. “Mr. LeClair threatened everyone there by taking their drivers’ licences and recording the addresses thereon before returning them.”
LeClair, a longtime drug dealer, was once aligned with the UN gang, but later switched sides and joined the Red Scorpions.
The UN dubbed him “Traitor” and put a hit out on him. He was shot by UN hit men Cory Vallee and Jesse Adkins on Feb. 6, 2009. Vallee was convicted of the murder June 1, 2018. Adkins is missing and presumed dead.
A man convicted of murder in a 2006 baseball bat beating death at a Surrey crack shack has lost his appeal.
Khalid Damien Arnaout had argued on appeal that the jurors should have concluded that the late gangster Kevin LeClair was the assailant who beat David Mitchell to death over a $400 drug debt.
But a B.C. Appeal Court panel of three judges rejected Arnaout’s arguments and dismissed his appeal.
Justice Daphne Smith said the jurors’ conclusion that Arnaout was guilty of second-degree murder was reasonable based on the evidence at the 2016 trial.
“It was open to the jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant committed the offence,” Smith said in written reasons released Thursday.
Arnaout’s lawyer also argued that the trial judge failed to give proper instructions to the jury.
Smith also rejected that position.
“The jury charge reviewed the evidence and theories of the Crown and the appellant such that the jury was able to fully appreciate the issues of identity and intent,” Smith said.
Appeal Court Justices Mary Newbury and David Harris agreed.
Mitchell, 25, was beaten in the drug house on Ravine Road on Oct. 26, 2006. He died two days later in hospital.
Arnaout was charged with murder in the cold case in November 2014. Three others faced manslaughter counts. One co-accused was convicted. Two others were acquitted.
A key Crown witness against Arnaout was Gerald Desjarlais, who was at the house when Mitchell was beaten and pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.
Desjarlais testified that on the day of the beating, he overheard a phone conversation between LeClair and one of the co-accused, “during which Mr. LeClair said that he wanted to have Mitchell found, beaten up and ‘taxed’ for a debt of $400,” Smith noted in her ruling.
“Later that evening, Mr. Desjarlais drove himself and the three co-accused to the drug house. Mr. LeClair went in a separate vehicle, as did two others.”
The witness said Arnaout was the first one through the front door, picked up a black aluminum baseball bat and found Mitchell in another room.
“Desjarlais said he heard the bat connect with Mr. Mitchell’s head, which he described as making `a real loud knock,’ and then saw Mr. Mitchell fall face down onto the floor with his arms by his side,” Smith said.
Arnaout was yelling “where’s my f — king money,” Desjarlais told the jurors.
He agreed that LeClair, who was gunned down by the United Nations gang in 2009, was present during the attack.
“After the attack, the group gathered at the home of one of the co-accused, where Mr. LeClair instructed Mr. Desjarlais and the others not to say anything about what had happened,” Smith noted. “Mr. LeClair threatened everyone there by taking their drivers’ licences and recording the addresses thereon before returning them.”
LeClair, a longtime drug dealer, was once aligned with the UN gang, but later switched sides and joined the Red Scorpions.
The UN dubbed him “Traitor” and put a hit out on him. He was shot by UN hit men Cory Vallee and Jesse Adkins on Feb. 6, 2009. Vallee was convicted of the murder June 1, 2018. Adkins is missing and presumed dead.
A B.C. man who fought extradition to the U.S. for years has now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, ecstasy and cocaine.
James Gregory Cameron, 51, worked with a group of B.C. smugglers to fly drugs across the border using helicopters more than a decade ago.
He was identified through a U.S. law-enforcement undercover operation that began in 2007, and was indicted in 2009.
Cameron lost several B.C. court rounds as he fought his extradition on the grounds that his health issues, including diabetes, couldn’t be properly managed in a U.S. prison.
And he argued before the B.C. Supreme Court and B.C. Court of Appeal that the U.S. waited too long — three years after his indictment — before applying to have Cameron sent to Washington state.
He asked the courts to set aside a decision by the Minister of Justice to surrender him to the Americans for prosecution.
Last April, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected Cameron’s request for leave to appeal an earlier B.C. court ruling that the minister had not made an unreasonable decision to turn him over for trial.
Cameron was finally sent to the U.S. in May, where he entered a not-guilty plea in a U.S. courtroom. He appeared to change his mind July 25, when the date was fixed for his change-of-plea hearing Wednesday. He entered the guilty plea before U.S. Federal Court Judge James Donahue. His sentencing hearing is set for November.
U.S. court documents said Cameron acted as a negotiator on behalf of the cross-border drug-trafficking organization and was responsible for organizing the transport and delivery of ecstasy and pot to the U.S., where it would be exchanged for cocaine and transported back to Canada.
In early 2008, “Cameron explained to a prospective customer that the men who made the decisions about the drugs sales were two brothers, one of whom was then in prison.”
Cameron was indicted along with several other B.C. men, all of whom have now pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
In June, Colin Hugh Martin was sentenced to seven years for supplying the helicopters used by the drug gang. He had also waged a lengthy and unsuccessful court battle against his extradition.
Co-accused Sean Doak pleaded guilty in 2016 and was also handed a seven-year term. Adam Christian Serrano pleaded guilty in 2013 in Seattle and received a three-year sentence.
Another B.C. man involved, Sam Lindsay-Brown, hanged himself in the Spokane County Jail after flying into a law-enforcement trap in 2009. U.S. agents met him as he landed a helicopter outside the city. Another pilot in the ring, Jeremy Snow, was caught flying drugs into Idaho in March 2009. After serving a 46-month sentence, he returned to Kelowna, where he was shot to death in February 2013.
During the U.S. investigation, agents seized more than 240,000 ecstasy pills, 175 kilograms of cocaine and 358 kilos of marijuana from the B.C. drug gang. The seizures took place in Washington state, Idaho, Utah, California and Nelson.
A major Vancouver police investigation has led to dozens of charges against members of the notorious Kang gang and their Red Scorpion associates, Postmedia News has learned.
During the investigation, police seized illicit drugs, caches of restricted firearms and even a pressure cooker bomb that was intended “to endanger the life of person or persons unknown.”
Charged with possessing the bomb, in Vancouver on July 19, 2018, are Csongor Szucs and Kyle Latimer – Red Scorpion associates alleged in court documents to be part of a criminal organization that includes Latimer’s dad Craig, Jamie Bacon and convicted Surrey Six killer Cody Haevischer.
Neither Bacon, who is in custody awaiting trial next month on a charge of counselling to commit murder, nor Haevischer, who is serving a life sentence, were charged this week despite being named in the indictment.
The investigation, which also involved the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit and the RCMP, dates back to 2017 when the Kang group broke away from their former associates in the Brothers Keepers gang and became locked in a bloody conflict across the Lower Mainland.
Last month, Vancouver Police, with the assistance of the other agencies, executed search warrants at several locations in connection with the investigation.
This week, police arrested more than a dozen Kang group members, as well as the Red Scorpion-linked associates. Over the last two days, at least 14 people charged in the case have made appearances in Vancouver Provincial Court.
Even Kang parents Gurcharn Singh and Mohanvir Kaur Kang and uncle Ranbir Kang are facing charges for allegedly participating in the activities of a criminal organization in Burnaby and Maple Ridge between February and April 2018, according to court documents obtained by Postmedia.
Gurcharn and Mohanvir’s son Randeep “Randy” Kang was shot to death in Surrey last October, in a targeted hit that left his brother Gary wounded. No charges have yet been laid in the slaying.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Pictured is a Kang family home in Burnaby on August 9, 2018.
Gary, along with incarcerated brother Sameet or Sam, have now been charged with commission of an offence for a criminal organization between May 2017 and August 2018, along with associates Pashminder “Jason” Boparai, Manveer Braich, Kristoffer Ghuman and Jitesh Vagh.
They allegedly conspired, along with Kyle Latimer and former realtor Omid Mashinchi, to traffic narcotics over a 15-month period that began last year.
Mashinchi, who is not charged in the case, just pleaded guilty in Boston to money laundering. Postmedia earlier revealed that Mashinchi was associated to the Wolf Pack gang coalition and had been leasing condos out to various gangsters, including the North Vancouver penthouse where Brothers Keepers boss Gavinder Grewal was murdered last December.
Latimer and his father Craig also face several firearms charges for allegedly possessing 19 restricted firearms and 22 prohibited firearms, as well as 14 silencers, in Richmond on April 11, 2018.
Among the prohibited firearms were six Browning .22 calibre buck mark rifles, a 9mm Uzi 45 pistol, four Kel-Tec 9mm sub-2000 rifles, another Kel-Tec rifle with a shortened barrel and two Simonov SKS rifles with shortened barrels.
Neither Vancouver Police nor the anti-gang CFSEU would comment Thursday on the arrests or the investigation.
A news conference about the case is planned for Friday morning in downtown Vancouver.
Sources say the arrests will decimate the Kang group, alleged to be running drug lines selling fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine throughout Metro Vancouver. The seizure of dozens of firearms is also expected to help curb gang violence in the region.
Gary Kang and Ghuman are also facing firearms charges.
Two separate indictments stemming from the investigation were sworn Aug. 7 and obtained by Postmedia. One lists nine Kang family members and associates charged, though contains references to Kyle Latimer, Mashinchi and others not charged. A second indictment lists five accused — Latimer, his dad Craig, Czucs, Jacob Pereira and Anduele Pikientio, but mentions Bacon, Haevischer and Sam Kang as being part of the criminal organization.
Last year, the B.C. director of civil forfeiture named both Kyle and Craig Latimer, Szucs and Pereira and others in a civil case seeking the forfeiture of vehicles, cash, jewelry, cellphones and computers seized during an investigation “into a group of individuals believed to be operating clandestine drug laboratories.”
The civil forfeiture case claims that the Latimers were stopped by Delta Police as they drove away from their Tsawwassen residence in a Hyundai on Feb. 9, 2017.
Police allege they found a hidden compartment containing $51,000 in cash stuffed into a copper box, $52,000 packed in a yellow cloth bag, and $7,300 in a silver briefcase. Next to the cash, police found a digital scale, a Lee Enfield Ishapore .303 calibre rifle, a Siminov SKS 1952 Tula Factory rifle, a Winchester Model 1200 12-gauge pump-action with a filed down serial number and sawed off barrel, and a Kimel AP9 9mm machine pistol, the civil suit said.
Both men claim in their statement of defence that police violated their Charter rights during the search.
Sorry I am late reopening comments. I was digging into this case of arrests of significant Kang and Red Scorpion members after a major gang investigation headed by the Vancouver Police Department.
Here’s my first story on the arrests, with a follow to be posted later this afternoon:
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Scorpion table base and bags of cash seized during gang investigation
Police probe leads to dozens of charges against Red
A major Vancouver police investigation has led to dozens of charges against members of the notorious Kang gang and their Red Scorpion associates, Postmedia News has learned.
During the investigation, police seized illicit drugs, caches of restricted firearms and even a pressure cooker bomb that was intended “to endanger the life of person or persons unknown.”
Charged with possessing the bomb, in Vancouver on July 19, 2018, are Csongor Szucs and Kyle Latimer – Red Scorpion associates alleged in court documents to be part of a criminal organization that includes Latimer’s dad Craig, Jamie Bacon and convicted Surrey Six killer Cody Haevischer.
Neither Bacon, who is in custody awaiting trial next month on a charge of counselling to commit murder, nor Haevischer, who is serving a life sentence, were charged this week despite being named in the indictment.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Randeep Kang, left, with Sam Kang right and a friend in the middle in undated instagram photoINSTAGRAM
The investigation, which also involved the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit and the RCMP, dates back to 2017 when the Kang group broke away from their former associates in the Brothers Keepers gang and became locked in a bloody conflict across the Lower Mainland.
Last month, Vancouver Police, with the assistance of the other agencies, executed search warrants at several locations in connection with the investigation.
This week, police arrested more than a dozen Kang group members, as well as the Red Scorpion-linked associates. Over the last two days, at least 14 people charged in the case have made appearances in Vancouver Provincial Court.
Even Kang parents Gurcharn Singh and Mohanvir Kaur Kang and uncle Ranbir Kang are facing charges for allegedly participating in the activities of a criminal organization in Burnaby and Maple Ridge between February and April 2018, according to court documents obtained by Postmedia.
Gurcharn and Mohanvir’s son Randeep “Randy” Kang was shot to death in Surrey last October, in a targeted hit that left his brother Gary wounded. No charges have yet been laid in the slaying.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Pictured is a Kang family home in Burnaby on August 9, 2018.FRANCIS GEORGIAN / PNG
Gary, along with incarcerated brother Sameet or Sam, have now been charged with commission of an offence for a criminal organization between May 2017 and August 2018, along with associates Pashminder “Jason” Boparai, Manveer Braich, Kristoffer Ghuman and Jitesh Vagh.
They allegedly conspired, along with Kyle Latimer and former realtor Omid Mashinchi, to traffic narcotics over a 15-month period that began last year.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Former Metro Vancouver realtor Omid Mashinchi, 35 – who has been leasing luxury properties to B.C. gangsters – pleaded guilty July 27, 2018 in Boston to money laundering. [PNG Merlin Archive]
Mashinchi, who is not charged in the case, just pleaded guilty in Boston to money laundering. Postmedia earlier revealed that Mashinchi was associated to the Wolf Pack gang coalition and had been leasing condos out to various gangsters, including the North Vancouver penthouse where Brothers Keepers boss Gavinder Grewal was murdered last December.Latimer and his father Craig also face several firearms charges for allegedly possessing 19 restricted firearms and 22 prohibited firearms, as well as 14 silencers, in Richmond on April 11, 2018.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Gold-plated gun seized during VPD-led investigation
Among the prohibited firearms were six Browning .22 calibre buck mark rifles, a 9mm Uzi 45 pistol, four Kel-Tec 9mm sub-2000 rifles, another Kel-Tec rifle with a shortened barrel and two Simonov SKS rifles with shortened barrels.
Neither Vancouver Police nor the anti-gang CFSEU would comment Thursday on the arrests or the investigation.
A news conference about the case is planned for Friday morning in downtown Vancouver.
Sources say the arrests will decimate the Kang group, alleged to be running drug lines selling fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine throughout Metro Vancouver. The seizure of dozens of firearms is also expected to help curb gang violence in the region.
Gary Kang and Ghuman are also facing firearms charges.
Two separate indictments stemming from the investigation were sworn Aug. 7 and obtained by Postmedia. One lists nine Kang family members and associates charged, though contains references to Kyle Latimer, Mashinchi and others not charged. A second indictment lists five accused — Latimer, his dad Craig, Czucs, Jacob Pereira and Anduele Pikientio, but mentions Bacon, Haevischer and Sam Kang as being part of the criminal organization.
Last year, the B.C. director of civil forfeiture named both Kyle and Craig Latimer, Szucs and Pereira and others in a civil case seeking the forfeiture of vehicles, cash, jewelry, cellphones and computers seized during an investigation “into a group of individuals believed to be operating clandestine drug laboratories.”
The civil forfeiture case claims that the Latimers were stopped by Delta Police as they drove away from their Tsawwassen residence in a Hyundai on Feb. 9, 2017.
Police allege they found a hidden compartment containing $51,000 in cash stuffed into a copper box, $52,000 packed in a yellow cloth bag, and $7,300 in a silver briefcase. Next to the cash, police found a digital scale, a Lee Enfield Ishapore .303 calibre rifle, a Siminov SKS 1952 Tula Factory rifle, a Winchester Model 1200 12-gauge pump-action with a filed down serial number and sawed off barrel, and a Kimel AP9 9mm machine pistol, the civil suit said.
Both men claim in their statement of defence that police violated their Charter rights during the search.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the arrest of 14 gangsters linked to the Red Scorpions and the Kang group “sends a very strong message” to those caught up in organized crime in B.C.
Farnworth praised the work of the Vancouver Police Department and other agencies Friday after 92 charges were laid against the gangsters, including participating in a criminal organization, drug trafficking, conspiracy and possession of firearms and even explosives.
“This sends a very strong message to these gangs that they are going to get caught, they are going to get nailed and there are going to be consequences,” Farnworth said Friday. “And they are going to find out that if they stay involved, they face not just jail time, but also civil forfeiture.”
Among those charged this week with participating in a criminal organization are Red Scorpion leader Kyle Latimer, his dad Craig and five members of the Kang family — brothers Gary and Sam, along with their parents Gurcharn and Mohanbir and uncle Ranbir.
Vancouver Police Supt. Mike Porteous noted a number of unindicted co-conspirators are believed to be involved in the drug-trafficking organization, including jailed gangsters Jamie Bacon and Cody Haevischer, both of the Red Scorpions.
Bacon is awaiting trial next month for counselling to commit murder. Haevischer was convicted of murder in the 2007 Surrey Six slayings and is serving a life sentence.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
A Red Scorpions gang-related painting, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday. (Photo: Kim Bolan)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Randeep Kang, left, with Sam Kang, right, and a friend in the middle in undated instagram photo.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Police officers with some of the spoils of crime, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges.
Porteous said the jailed gangsters are believed to have been participating in the criminal organization from behind bars — something Farnworth said is “concerning.”
The VPD-led investigation, dubbed Project Territory, is “a major blow to Lower Mainland gangsters in one of the most successful gang crime investigations in B.C. history,” Porteous said.
Those arrested have been linked to shootings and murders in the region, he said, adding that police have stopped gangsters on their way to kill rivals.
“We have had an ongoing violent conflict. Many shootings and murders in the region are attributed to the conflict that the Kang-Latimer group has been participating in the last few years,” Porteous said.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
A gold-plated gun, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver. (Photo: Francis Georgian, PNG)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Some jewelry, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges. (Photo: Francis Georgian, PNG)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Some of the firearms seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges. (Photo: Francis Georgian, PNG)
Project Territory was one of several investigations by a task force struck by the VPD in March 2017 and later joined by several municipal police forces, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Territory led to seizure of 93 firearms, a pressure cooker bomb found last month in Vancouver, about 50 kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs, $833,000 cash, jewelry worth $800,000 and collector cars valued at another $350,000.
Police displayed several pieces of gold jewelry featuring scorpions, paintings of giant red scorpions and skulls, as well as a black scorpion-shaped metal table base and a gold-plated Desert Eagle 44 magnum pistol.
Vancouver Staff Sgt. Lisa Byrne, team commander of Project Territory, said the arrests were “very significant.”
“My hope is that it will have an incredible impact on the gang violence that we are seeing on the Lower Mainland,” she said.
She noted that the Kang group had previously been part of the Brothers Keepers gang, but had turned on its former associates.
“I think this could have a significant impact on the region’s violence.”
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Bags of cash, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday. (Photo: Kim Bolan)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
A pressure-cooker improvised explosive device, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver. (Photo: Kim Bolan)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Some of the firearms seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges. (Photo: Kim Bolan)
During the investigation, police were troubled to see gangsters in conflict with each other sometimes living metres apart in high-end rentals.
In June, Postmedia revealed that one of the unindicted co-conspirators named Friday, Omid Mashinchi had been leasing suites to gangsters. He just pleaded guilty in Boston to money laundering.
The gangsters were leasing suites “because these properties contain security features which they believe keep them safe mostly from rival gangs,” Byrne said.
“My team found this really disturbing because we had rival gang members housed within dozens of meters of each other and the potential for spontaneous violence and gunplay was obviously something that was super concerning to us.”
The suites were also being used to process fentanyl, cook other drugs, store guns and even the explosive device seized July 19, 2018, Byrne said.
The suites were also being used to host parties.
“Several of these parties are also linked to violent events where drive by shootings occurred, assaults occurred or murders occurred,” Byrne said.
RCMP Supt. Brian Gateley, acting CFSEU chief, said the arrests may leave a vacuum that other gangs will try to fill.
“There is no question that this investigation taking out the Kangs and the Red Scorpions and Kyle Latimer is going to leave a void,” he said.
But CFSEU has the ability to move resources to where they are most needed so that any up and coming gangs can be targeted, he explained.
“I think we have a pretty good understanding of the competing groups that are operating within the province here.”
At a news conference Friday, police announced the results of the major gang investigation started last year and reported on in today’s newspaper.
Here’s my latest story:
Metro Vancouver cops send ‘strong message’ with
Project Territory gang roundup
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the arrest of 14 gangsters linked to the Red Scorpions and the Kang group “sends a very strong message” to those caught up in organized crime in B.C.
Farnworth praised the work of the Vancouver Police Department and other agencies Friday after 92 charges were laid against the gangsters, including participating in a criminal organization, drug trafficking, conspiracy and possession of firearms and even explosives.
“This sends a very strong message to these gangs that they are going to get caught, they are going to get nailed and there are going to be consequences,” Farnworth said Friday. “And they are going to find out that if they stay involved, they face not just jail time, but also civil forfeiture.”
Among those charged this week with participating in a criminal organization are Red Scorpion leader Kyle Latimer, his dad Craig and five members of the Kang family — brothers Gary and Sam, along with their parents Gurcharn and Mohanbir and uncle Ranbir.
Vancouver Police Supt. Mike Porteous noted a number of unindicted co-conspirators are believed to be involved in the drug-trafficking organization, including jailed gangsters Jamie Bacon and Cody Haevischer, both of the Red Scorpions.
Bacon is awaiting trial next month for counselling to commit murder. Haevischer was convicted of murder in the 2007 Surrey Six slayings and is serving a life sentence.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A Red Scorpions gang-related painting, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday. (Photo: Kim Bolan)KIM BOLAN / PNGImage may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Randeep Kang, left, with Sam Kang, right, and a friend in the middle in undated instagram photo.INSTAGRAMImage may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Police officers with some of the spoils of crime, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018 in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges.KIM BOLAN / PNG
Porteous said the jailed gangsters are believed to have been participating in the criminal organization from behind bars — something Farnworth said is “concerning.”
The VPD-led investigation, dubbed Project Territory, is “a major blow to Lower Mainland gangsters in one of the most successful gang crime investigations in B.C. history,” Porteous said.
Those arrested have been linked to shootings and murders in the region, he said, adding that police have stopped gangsters on their way to kill rivals.
“We have had an ongoing violent conflict. Many shootings and murders in the region are attributed to the conflict that the Kang-Latimer group has been participating in the last few years,” Porteous said.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A gold-plated gun, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver. (Photo: Francis Georgian, PNG)FRANCIS GEORGIAN / PNGImage may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Some jewelry, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges. (Photo: Francis Georgian, PNG)FRANCIS GEORGIAN / PNGImage may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Some of the firearms seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges. (Photo: Francis Georgian, PNG)FRANCIS GEORGIAN / PNG
Project Territory was one of several investigations by a task force struck by the VPD in March 2017 and later joined by several municipal police forces, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Territory led to seizure of 93 firearms, a pressure cooker bomb found last month in Vancouver, about 50 kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs, $833,000 cash, jewelry worth $800,000 and collector cars valued at another $350,000.
Police displayed several pieces of gold jewelry featuring scorpions, paintings of giant red scorpions and skulls, as well as a black scorpion-shaped metal table base and a gold-plated Desert Eagle 44 magnum pistol.
Vancouver Staff Sgt. Lisa Byrne, team commander of Project Territory, said the arrests were “very significant.”
“My hope is that it will have an incredible impact on the gang violence that we are seeing on the Lower Mainland,” she said.
She noted that the Kang group had previously been part of the Brothers Keepers gang, but had turned on its former associates.
“I think this could have a significant impact on the region’s violence.”
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A pressure-cooker improvised explosive device, part of the items seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver. (Photo: Kim Bolan)KIM BOLAN / PNGImage may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Some of the firearms seized by police and displayed at a news conference on Friday in Vancouver that announced the arrest of 14 gangsters who face 93 charges. (Photo: Kim Bolan)KIM BOLAN / PNG
During the investigation, police were troubled to see gangsters in conflict with each other sometimes living metres apart in high-end rentals.
In June, Postmedia revealed that one of the unindicted co-conspirators named Friday, Omid Mashinchi had been leasing suites to gangsters. He just pleaded guilty in Boston to money laundering.
The gangsters were leasing suites “because these properties contain security features which they believe keep them safe mostly from rival gangs,” Byrne said.
“My team found this really disturbing because we had rival gang members housed within dozens of meters of each other and the potential for spontaneous violence and gunplay was obviously something that was super concerning to us.”
The suites were also being used to process fentanyl, cook other drugs, store guns and even the explosive device seized July 19, 2018, Byrne said.
The suites were also being used to host parties.
“Several of these parties are also linked to violent events where drive by shootings occurred, assaults occurred or murders occurred,” Byrne said.
RCMP Supt. Brian Gateley, acting CFSEU chief, said the arrests may leave a vacuum that other gangs will try to fill.
“There is no question that this investigation taking out the Kangs and the Red Scorpions and Kyle Latimer is going to leave a void,” he said.
But CFSEU has the ability to move resources to where they are most needed so that any up and coming gangs can be targeted, he explained.
“I think we have a pretty good understanding of the competing groups that are operating within the province here.”
Task Force Tourniquet was initiated by the Vancouver Police Department in March 2017, in response to the gang violence in the Lower Mainland.
In September 2017, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of BC (CFSEU-BC) joined the task force, and in January 2018, all Lower Mainland agencies had resources committed, including:
Abbotsford PD
Delta PD
New Westminster PD
Port Moody PD
West Vancouver PD
Burnaby RCMP
CFSEU-BC
Coquitlam RCMP
IHIT
Langley RCMP
North Vancouver RCMP
RCMP LMD District
Richmond RCMP
Surrey RCMP
The task force has targeted four major, violent crime groups in the ongoing gang conflict in British Columbia, and investigated multiple offences, including murders, shootings, and other violent crimes.
Several projects were initiated by Task Force Tourniquet, including Tariff, Temper, Triplet, Treachery and, most recently, Territory.
Project Tariff targeted the Heer/Dhillon/Samra crime group. A five-month VPD investigation, initiated in March of 2018, resulted in:
seizure of ten firearms
seizure of more than two kilograms of heroin, fentanyl, and fentanyl analogues
arrest of 11 Lower Mainland-based gang associates
79 criminal charges (pending trial)
Project Temper targeted the Gill crime group in May 2017, and resulted in:
seizure of four firearms
arrest of seven individuals
24 criminal charges (pending trial)
Project Triplet resulted from a police-initiated interdiction event in February 2018 where two individuals were believed to be about to commit a serious indictable offence. It resulted in:
six criminal charges against two individuals
seizure of one firearm
Project Treachery targeted the Grewal/Dhaliwal crime group and was initiated in the fall of 2017. During the course of this investigation, investigators learned that a farmhouse at 4096 240th Street in Langley was being used by gang members. Officers executed a search warrant on November 13, 2017, and recovered the following items on December 5, 2017:
two improvised explosive devices
nine handguns
three assault rifles
eight stolen vehicles
more than 600 rounds of ammunition
more than 500 marijuana plants
bulletproof vests
The investigation is ongoing and investigators expect criminal charges in the future.
Project Territory targeted the Kang/Latimer group. A 17-month investigation initiated in March 2017 resulted in:
92 criminal charges against 14 individuals
seizure of 93 firearms
seizure of one pressure cooker improvised explosive device
seizure of 59 prohibited devices
seizure of more than 9.5 kilograms of fentanyl
seizure of close to 40 kilograms of other illicit drugs
seizure of $833,000 cash
seizure of $800,000 worth of jewelry
seizure of $350,000 worth of collector cars
The criminal offences included drug trafficking, firearms possession, proceeds of crime, and participation in a criminal organization.
The Kang/Latimer Group
The Kang group is composed of members of the Kang family, including Sameet Kang, Gary Kang, Randy Kang (deceased), their parents, and other close associates.
The Kang Group is closely aligned with the Red Scorpions Gang, specifically with Jamie Bacon and Kyle Latimer. It’s believed they share common interests in drug lines, and that they commit violence at the behest of or for one another.
The Kang/Latimer group also been in conflict with multiple groups over the past 18 months, and their allegiances remain fluid and ever-changing.
A longtime member of the Independent Soldiers gang has been charged with aggravated assault after a man was beaten with a golf club at a lake in the Okanagan Saturday.
Jody Archie York, 43, appeared in Vernon provincial court on Monday and was released on $2,000 bail.
York was charged after the attack at Monte Lake, between Vernon and Kamloops, just before 8 a.m. Saturday morning.
Sources said the victim was with friends on one side of the lake when they heard a woman screaming from a group on the other side. He yelled to the group to shut up.
A few minutes later, it is alleged, York arrived at the victim’s campsite and began hitting him with the golf club.
The man was knocked unconscious and was twitching before his friend jumped in with a machete and cut York. The victim of the golf club attack and York both ended up in hospital.
A Vernon RCMP media officer, Cpl. Tania Finn, said officers were called to “a serious assault” in the 3900-block of Highway 97 in Monte Lake on Saturday.
“The incident allegedly began as a verbal altercation; however, escalated to an assault involving a golf club and a machete. The victim, who was in the area camping with friends, was not known to the suspect,” she said. “The victim sustained a serious injury and remains in hospital.”
Two years ago York and others wore Independent Soldiers shirts at a golf tournament at a time when police said the gang was expanding across B.C.
York has a long history with on both sides of the B.C.-Washington state border.
In 2011, he was sentenced in the U.S. to five years in prison as a leader of a major international drug smuggling ring who prosecutors said worked on behalf of B.C. Hells Angels.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Jody York at golf tournament in 2016, wearing an Independent Soldiers shirt
York said at his sentencing that he was reformed and had turned away from gang life. However, police sources said this week that York has maintained his gang connections.
Some in the Independent Soldiers have formed an alliance with some gangsters in the Red Scorpions and Hells Angels to create the Wolf Pack.
In the U.S. drug case, York was described as the chairman of the board of the smuggling organization.
He pleaded guilty in Seattle in November 2010 and was sentenced several months later.
Yorkadmitted that beginning in 2003 and continuing until September 2006, he entered into an agreement with associates Rob Shannon, Devron Quast and “others known and unknown” across the border.
“Shannon and York arranged for multiple loads of marijuana to be smuggled into the U.S. from Canada,” his plea agreement says. “The marijuana, which was owned by others but entrusted to Shannon and York for transportation, was hidden in truckloads of beauty bark, crates, hollowed-out logs, pipes, trailers and various other means, and crossed into the state of Washington.“.
During the three-year U.S. investigation, police seized more than 1,700 pounds (770 kg) of cocaine, 7,000 pounds (more than 3,000 kg) of B.C. bud and about $3.5 million.
In B.C., York’s run-ins with the law date back to when he was 19, according to provincial court records.
He was at earlier convictions for assault in Surrey, Abbotsford and Victoria. His Langley home was targeted in a shooting in 2008.
The charges are mounting against members of the Red Scorpion gang and their associates.
Delta Police announced Tuesday that seven men linked to the notorious gang are facing dozens of additional charges stemming from an investigation into a dial-a-dope operation in the city.
Some of those charged, including high-ranking Red Scorpion Kyle Latimer, were also arrested last week in a Vancouver Police Department-led investigation into several Lower Mainland gangs involved in the drug trade.
The two investigations have resulted in 186 charges in total.
Delta Police started “Project Green Planet” in March 2017 after learning about the dial-a-dope line based in Richmond, which was supplying product to South Delta and Vancouver.
Undercover Delta officers made several drug purchases and eventually identified the line managers and suppliers to be Red Scorpion gang members and associates.
“As we’ve conveyed to the community in the past, we are primarily interested in targeting the drug traffickers and not the drug users. If we can break the illicit drug trade supply lines, even if it’s only temporarily, we can save lives and reduce connected property crime stemming from drug addiction,” Delta Staff Sgt. Heath Newton said in a news release.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Red Scorpion ring seized during investigation
Search warrants were executed last fall in Richmond and Burnaby, resulting in the seizure of $50,000 to $100,000 worth of street level drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine and heroin.
Also seized were two semi-automatic rifle, two pistols, bulletproof vest, an axe and a machete.
Four luxury vehicles, $52,000 in cash and $30,000 were also seized.
Latimer is facing 19 charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, firearms offences and breach of conditions.
His fellow Red Scorpion members Jacob Angelo Pereira, 25, and Anduele Jonathon Pikeintio, 22, each face 14 new charges. Each was also charged in the VPD-led investigation last week.
Red Scorpion Khaadim Kwame Coddett, 26, is charged with 19 counts for trafficking, possession of firearms and breach of conditions.
And Red Scorpion associate Billie Onare Kim, 33, is facing 14 charges, while James Albert Souliere and Darryl Rick Whitson each face several trafficking counts.
Police are looking for Pikeintio, Kim, Souliere and Whitson.
Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord said the arrests “will have a significant impact on gangs operating in the Metro Vancouver area.”
“Yes, gangsters and their associates may reap some short-term profits. But we want the public, and those who may be considering getting involved in gangs, to know that the end is inevitable. Whether it’s by violence through a rival gang, or through the justice system, you will be held accountable for your criminal activity,” he said.
Jody York hasn’t been on the Real Scoop for years, but I certainly reported on him starting about a decade ago when his Langley house was shot up. Then I followed his prosecution in the U.S.
Now the 43-year-old is facing a new charge after a brutal beating at an north Okanagan lake.
Here’s my story:
B.C. gangster charged with aggravated assault after
lakeside beating
Jody Archie York was charged after the attack at Monte Lake, between Vernon and Kamloops.
A longtime member of the Independent Soldiers gang has been charged with aggravated assault after a man was beaten with a golf club at a lake in the Okanagan Saturday.
Jody Archie York, 43, appeared in Vernon provincial court on Monday and was released on $2,000 bail.
York was charged after the attack at Monte Lake, between Vernon and Kamloops, just before 8 a.m. Saturday morning.
Sources said the victim was with friends on one side of the lake when they heard a woman screaming from a group on the other side. He yelled to the group to shut up.
A few minutes later, it is alleged, York arrived at the victim’s campsite and began hitting him with the golf club.
The man was knocked unconscious and was twitching before his friend jumped in with a machete and cut York. The victim of the golf club attack and York both ended up in hospital.
A Vernon RCMP media officer, Cpl. Tania Finn, said officers were called to “a serious assault” in the 3900-block of Highway 97 in Monte Lake on Saturday.
“The incident allegedly began as a verbal altercation; however, escalated to an assault involving a golf club and a machete. The victim, who was in the area camping with friends, was not known to the suspect,” she said. “The victim sustained a serious injury and remains in hospital.”
Two years ago York and others wore Independent Soldiers shirts at a golf tournament at a time when police said the gang was expanding across B.C.
York has a long history with on both sides of the B.C.-Washington state border.
In 2011, he was sentenced in the U.S. to five years in prison as a leader of a major international drug smuggling ring who prosecutors said worked on behalf of B.C. Hells Angels.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Jody York at golf tournament in 2016, wearing an Independent Soldiers shirt
York said at his sentencing that he was reformed and had turned away from gang life. However, police sources said this week that York has maintained his gang connections.
Some in the Independent Soldiers have formed an alliance with some gangsters in the Red Scorpions and Hells Angels to create the Wolf Pack.
In the U.S. drug case, York was described as the chairman of the board of the smuggling organization.
He pleaded guilty in Seattle in November 2010 and was sentenced several months later.
Yorkadmitted that beginning in 2003 and continuing until September 2006, he entered into an agreement with associates Rob Shannon, Devron Quast and “others known and unknown” across the border.
“Shannon and York arranged for multiple loads of marijuana to be smuggled into the U.S. from Canada,” his plea agreement says. “The marijuana, which was owned by others but entrusted to Shannon and York for transportation, was hidden in truckloads of beauty bark, crates, hollowed-out logs, pipes, trailers and various other means, and crossed into the state of Washington.“.
During the three-year U.S. investigation, police seized more than 1,700 pounds (770 kg) of cocaine, 7,000 pounds (more than 3,000 kg) of B.C. bud and about $3.5 million.
In B.C., York’s run-ins with the law date back to when he was 19, according to provincial court records.
He was at earlier convictions for assault in Surrey, Abbotsford and Victoria. His Langley home was targeted in a shooting in 2008.
Delta Police have released the results of an undercover operation that has led to even more charges against the Red Scorpion gang, infamous for the brutal Surrey Six slayings.
Here’s my latest story:
Delta Police announce more charges against Red
Scorpions
Delta Police announced 94 charges have been laid against the Red Scorpion gang for running drug lines that provided cocaine and fentanyl
The charges are mounting against members of the Red Scorpion gang and their associates.
Delta Police announced Tuesday that seven men linked to the notorious gang are facing dozens of additional charges stemming from an investigation into a dial-a-dope operation in the city.
Some of those charged, including high-ranking Red Scorpion Kyle Latimer, were also arrested last week in a Vancouver Police Department-led investigation into several Lower Mainland gangs involved in the drug trade.
The two investigations have resulted in 186 charges in total.
Delta Police started “Project Green Planet” in March 2017 after learning about the dial-a-dope line based in Richmond, which was supplying product to South Delta and Vancouver.
Undercover Delta officers made several drug purchases and eventually identified the line managers and suppliers to be Red Scorpion gang members and associates.
“As we’ve conveyed to the community in the past, we are primarily interested in targeting the drug traffickers and not the drug users. If we can break the illicit drug trade supply lines, even if it’s only temporarily, we can save lives and reduce connected property crime stemming from drug addiction,” Delta Staff Sgt. Heath Newton said in a news release.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Red Scorpion ring seized during investigation
Search warrants were executed last fall in Richmond and Burnaby, resulting in the seizure of $50,000 to $100,000 worth of street level drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine and heroin.
Also seized were two semi-automatic rifle, two pistols, bulletproof vest, an axe and a machete.
Four luxury vehicles, $52,000 in cash and $30,000 were also seized.
Latimer is facing 19 charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, firearms offences and breach of conditions.
His fellow Red Scorpion members Jacob Angelo Pereira, 25, and Anduele Jonathon Pikeintio, 22, each face 14 new charges. Each was also charged in the VPD-led investigation last week.
Red Scorpion Khaadim Kwame Coddett, 26, is charged with 19 counts for trafficking, possession of firearms and breach of conditions.
And Red Scorpion associate Billie Onare Kim, 33, is facing 14 charges, while James Albert Souliere and Darryl Rick Whitson each face several trafficking counts.
Police are looking for Pikeintio, Kim, Souliere and Whitson.
Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord said the arrests “will have a significant impact on gangs operating in the Metro Vancouver area.”
“Yes, gangsters and their associates may reap some short-term profits. But we want the public, and those who may be considering getting involved in gangs, to know that the end is inevitable. Whether it’s by violence through a rival gang, or through the justice system, you will be held accountable for your criminal activity,” he said.
The trial of gangster Jamie Bacon on a charge of counselling to commit murder has been delayed again.
Bacon had been set to go to trial on the charge, which dates back to New Year’s Eve 2008, next month at the Vancouver Law Courts.
But Dan McLaughlin, of the B.C. Prosecution Service, said the trial will now start on Nov. 5.
“The trial was adjourned as it became apparent that the current trial date was no longer viable as a result of ongoing pre-trial issues,” McLaughlin said.
Bacon’s trial on the charge of directing someone to shoot a former associate was originally set for April 2018, but was then adjourned to September by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge.
Bacon has been in custody since April 3, 2009, when he was arrested and charged in the Surrey Six murder case. Bacon was originally charged with plotting the murder of gang rival Corey Lal and Lal’s first-degree murder on Oct. 19, 2007 in a Surrey high-rise.
Hitmen from Bacon’s Red Scorpion gang — Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston — were convicted of forcing their way into a penthouse apartment in the Balmoral Tower and executing Lal, his brother Michael and drug dealers Ryan Bartolomeo and Eddie Narong, as well as bystanders Chris Mohan and Ed Schellenberg. The hit men were accompanied by a man who can only be identified as Person X.
The Surrey Six charges that Bacon faced were stayed by a judge on Dec. 1, 2017, based on information presented at a secret hearing. The Crown is appealing that ruling and will next be in court on Oct. 26.
Earlier this year, Bacon applied for bail on the counselling charge, but was denied. Reasons for the bail ruling are covered by a publication ban.
The trial of gangster Jamie Bacon on a charge of counselling to commit murder has been delayed again.
Bacon had been set to go to trial on the charge, which dates back to New Year’s Eve 2008, next month at the Vancouver Law Courts.
But Dan McLaughlin, of the B.C. Prosecution Service, said the trial will now start on Nov. 5.
“The trial was adjourned as it became apparent that the current trial date was no longer viable as a result of ongoing pre-trial issues,” McLaughlin said.
Bacon’s trial on the charge of directing someone to shoot a former associate was originally set for April 2018, but was then adjourned to September by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge.
Bacon has been in custody since April 3, 2009, when he was arrested and charged in the Surrey Six murder case. Bacon was originally charged with plotting the murder of gang rival Corey Lal and Lal’s first-degree murder on Oct. 19, 2007 in a Surrey high-rise.
Hitmen from Bacon’s Red Scorpion gang — Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston — were convicted of forcing their way into a penthouse apartment in the Balmoral Tower and executing Lal, his brother Michael and drug dealers Ryan Bartolomeo and Eddie Narong, as well as bystanders Chris Mohan and Ed Schellenberg. The hit men were accompanied by a man who can only be identified as Person X.
The Surrey Six charges that Bacon faced were stayed by a judge on Dec. 1, 2017, based on information presented at a secret hearing. The Crown is appealing that ruling and will next be in court on Oct. 26.
Earlier this year, Bacon applied for bail on the counselling charge, but was denied. Reasons for the bail ruling are covered by a publication ban.
A West Vancouver man associated with the Hells Angels has been shot to death in Mexico, Postmedia News has learned.
Guiseppe Bugge, 42, died in a hail of bullets Thursday night at a posh shopping centre in an exclusive neighbourhood of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Local news reports said three vehicles pulled up about 9:30 p.m. and between eight and 10 men jumped out and fired at Bugge, who has a long history of fraud in B.C.
More than 140 bullets were fired at him, killing him instantly and injuring one of his Mexican-American associates and two bystanders.
Jalisco prosecutor Raúl Sánchez Jiménez said at a news conference that the state government had asked the Canadian and American consulates for information about Bugge and the injured man.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Bugge is known to police in this province.
“He is associated with the Hells Angels and involved in drug trafficking,” Winpenny said.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the federal government is providing “consular services” to the victim’s family.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian citizen who has been murdered in Mexico,” Brittany Fletcher said in an email.
“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information. Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act, no further information can be disclosed.”
The Canadian government has issued advisories warning people not to travel to several northern and western states in Mexico “due to the high levels of violence and organized crime.”
But the state of Jalisco, where the city of Guadalajara is located, is not under an advisory.
Bugge had been living in a West Vancouver house with a 2018 assessed value of more than $5 million.
In March 2018, he incorporated a company called G.S. Crypto Currency Ltd. with the B.C. corporate registry. He was listed as the sole director.
In July, Bugge and his new company sued the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce after it froze his corporate account to do an investigation of a transaction.
“As a business, Crypto exchanges currency for a digital currency known as Bitcoin,” Bugge’s suit says.
The court documents say Bugge was notified that his account was under investigation on June 4, 2018 over a $134,408 US cheque he took from a customer to buy Bitcoin.
He filed his suit days later, saying in it that “Bugge was not prepared to tolerate an indefinite block of the accounts.”
He won a default court order to release the funds on July 5 because CIBC filed no response, Bugge’s court documents state.
Bugge also has a second company called GSSK Rare Coins and Paper Money, which he started in 2013.
And he has operated a number of moving companies over the years that were the subject of many customer complaints and at least one criminal investigation.
In April, 2005, a truck belonging to Bugge’s Student Pro Movers was seized by U.S. authorities at the Blaine border crossing, where agents found 285 kilograms of marijuana stuffed inside. The driver of the truck was arrested, charged and later pled guilty to smuggling.
Around the same time, customers of Bugge’s moving company from as far away as Alaska and Texas were reporting their goods had never arrived. One customer, who finally retrieved her property from a storage facility, noticed the lining on her couch was slit.
In June 2005, Bugge was kidnapped in what police described as a drug trade-linked extortion.
He later showed up at a stranger’s door assaulted, handcuffed in plastic straps and suffering from cuts.
Three men later pled guilty to unlawful confinement, but other charges against them were dropped.
Also in 2005, Bugge was cited by the B.C. Financial Institution Commission for selling insurance to customers of his moving business without authorization and ordered to discontinue the practice.
I got a tip about this murder in Guadalajara late Thursday of a man well-known to police on the Lower Mainland.
Guiseppe Bugge, also known as Benny, had been linked to the drug trade in B.C. for years before he was targeted in Mexico.
I don’t really know much about Bugge, except what I learned from our archives and court searches. If anyone has more information, or a photo, please email me at kbolan@postmedia.com
Here’s my story:
Metro Vancouver man with gang links slain in Mexico
A West Vancouver man associated with the Hells Angels has been shot to death in Mexico, Postmedia News has learned.
Guiseppe Bugge, 42, died in a hail of bullets Thursday night at a posh shopping centre in an exclusive neighbourhood of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Local news reports said three vehicles pulled up about 9:30 p.m. and between eight and 10 men jumped out and fired at Bugge, who has a long history of fraud in B.C.
More than 140 bullets were fired at him, killing him instantly and injuring one of his Mexican-American associates and two bystanders.
Jalisco prosecutor Raúl Sánchez Jiménez said at a news conference that the state government had asked the Canadian and American consulates for information about Bugge and the injured man.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Bugge is known to police in this province.
“He is associated with the Hells Angels and involved in drug trafficking,” Winpenny said.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the federal government is providing “consular services” to the victim’s family.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian citizen who has been murdered in Mexico,” Brittany Fletcher said in an email.
“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information. Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act, no further information can be disclosed.”
The Canadian government has issued advisories warning people not to travel to several northern and western states in Mexico “due to the high levels of violence and organized crime.”
But the state of Jalisco, where the city of Guadalajara is located, is not under an advisory.
Bugge had been living in a West Vancouver house with a 2018 assessed value of more than $5 million.
In March 2018, he incorporated a company called G.S. Crypto Currency Ltd. with the B.C. corporate registry. He was listed as the sole director.
In July, Bugge and his new company sued the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce after it froze his corporate account to do an investigation of a transaction.
“As a business, Crypto exchanges currency for a digital currency known as Bitcoin,” Bugge’s suit says.
The court documents say Bugge was notified that his account was under investigation on June 4, 2018 over a $134,408 US cheque he took from a customer to buy Bitcoin.
He filed his suit days later, saying in it that “Bugge was not prepared to tolerate an indefinite block of the accounts.”
He won a default court order to release the funds on July 5 because CIBC filed no response, Bugge’s court documents state.
Bugge also has a second company called GSSK Rare Coins and Paper Money, which he started in 2013.
And he has operated a number of moving companies over the years that were the subject of many customer complaints and at least one criminal investigation.
In April, 2005, a truck belonging to Bugge’s Student Pro Movers was seized by U.S. authorities at the Blaine border crossing, where agents found 285 kilograms of marijuana stuffed inside. The driver of the truck was arrested, charged and later pled guilty to smuggling.
Around the same time, customers of Bugge’s moving company from as far away as Alaska and Texas were reporting their goods had never arrived. One customer, who finally retrieved her property from a storage facility, noticed the lining on her couch was slit.
In June 2005, Bugge was kidnapped in what police described as a drug trade-linked extortion.
He later showed up at a stranger’s door assaulted, handcuffed in plastic straps and suffering from cuts.
Three men later pled guilty to unlawful confinement, but other charges against them were dropped.
Also in 2005, Bugge was cited by the B.C. Financial Institution Commission for selling insurance to customers of his moving business without authorization and ordered to discontinue the practice.
A young Surrey man is facing several charges after officers from B.C.’s anti-gang agency spotted a stolen car in Surrey and attempted to pull it over.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said the officers saw the vehicle on the evening of Aug. 17 and followed it into a gas station.
The man fled, driving erratically. Police contacted RCMP’s Air 1 helicopter, which tracked the vehicle to 64th Avenue and 152nd Street in Surrey.
The suspect was seen running from the area. Police dogs tracked him to a location on 62A Avenue, where he was arrested, Winpenny said in a news release.
“In an attempt to evade arrest, the male sprayed the police officer and his police dog with bear spray,” she said. “Subsequent to the arrest, members seized a quantity of a variety of alleged illegal drugs in the possession of the male.”
Adam San-Aye, 21, has been charged with assaulting a police officer, dangerous operation of a vehicle, fleeing police and possession, as well as riving while prohibited.
“This arrest shows the daily commitment to tackle gang violence of the CFSEU-BC, and successfulness of an integrated approach to working with our police partners,” Winpenny said.
My colleague Keith Fraser covered the first day Thursday of the sentencing hearing of the young man who tried to kill a Hells Angel at Vancouver Airport in 2015.
The Crown is seeking a 12-year sentence for Knowah Ferguson, for the failed attempt on the life of Damion Ryan in the food court.
Interesting new information that came out at the hearing was that Ferguson was working for the United Nations gang, though the name of the person who hired him has not been determined. At the airport near Ryan during the attempt was Thomas Duong, who was convicted earlier this year for attempting to kill Matin Pouyan.
Duong had apparently lured Ryan to the scene.
I am at the Ferguson sentencing hearing today, though the judge is expected to reserve her decision until a later date.
Ferguson’s lawyer Jonathan Desbarats is asking for a seven-year sentence for his client, who he said was just “17 when he embarked upon this path.”
The night before Matthew Navas-Rivas was shot to death in east Vancouver last month, he was enjoying himself with other members of the Brothers Keepers gang on a boat cruise around the Vancouver waterfront.
Postmedia has obtained photos of the cruise, where Navas-Rivas chatted up other gang members and guests, shirt off, tattoos visible.
While Navas-Rivas appeared to be at ease with his new associates, he had admitted to others in the preceding months that he knew he was in danger.
His murder near Nanaimo and Cambridge streets on July 25 was likely related to a dispute between gangsters incarcerated in B.C. prisons that has spilled out onto city streets, a Postmedia investigation has found.
And he is not the conflict’s only victim.
Postmedia has learned that Navas-Rivas was the target of a shooting on Jan. 13 this year that killed 15-year-old Alfred Wong.
While Navas-Rivas escaped injury that night, some of the gunshots hit Wong’s family car as he and his parents drove along Broadway. No one has yet been charged in the murder of the gifted Coquitlam student.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Alfred Wong, 15, was killed when he was struck by a stray bullet while riding in a car with his family after a night out on Jan. 13.
Vancouver police Supt. Mike Porteous said he couldn’t comment on the case because it is an ongoing investigation.
But sources have confirmed that not only was Navas-Rivas targeted last January, his close associate Troy McKinnon was murdered hours earlier in Nanaimo.
Both men were associated with the Wolf Pack coalition until a splintering in the alliance led to internal violence.
Some of that violence occurred in federal prisons, including two separate stabbings of Wolf Pack killer Dean Wiwchar.
Wiwchar was attacked in Kent Institution last November, allegedly by inmates associated with McKinnon and Navas-Rivas.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Dean Wiwchar, charged in the 2012 Sandip Duhre murder.
Wiwchar, who was convicted of the first-degree murder of a Toronto man in June 2012, has also been charged with the January 2012 murder of B.C. gangster Sandip Duhre in the Sheraton Wall Centre, but has yet to go to trial in that slaying.
Wiwchar has since been transferred to a federal prison in Alberta, where he was recently stabbed again.
Porteous said any splintering that has happened in the Wolf Pack is not among the leadership.
“The higher ups are quiet. The lower you go, the more volatile you see it, and the more fracturing and the more unstable you see it,” Porteous said.
Sometimes the violence relates to incidents in prison or pretrial jail, he said. Sometimes it relates to the fact that some gang members are in custody while others are running their drug lines on the outside. And sometimes it’s just a personal beef.
“When one of their guys gets slighted or he gets threatened or he gets hot-buttered or stabbed or whatever inside jail, a threat will get made to whoever that guy thinks did it, and then you will start seeing this violence,” Porteous said.
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said some lower-level gangsters get attacked in prison because rivals want to retaliate against gang leaders they can’t reach.
“You are a captive audience in there,” he said.
When some gang members are in jail, their supposed friends on the outside sometimes make power moves, leading to violence within the group, Houghton said.
“So the game of thrones is really on when those people are no longer outside to pull the strings or be the puppet masters of their crews … and it is a free-for-all to see who can take over,” he said. “It is a backstabbing, chaotic, paranoia-filled world.”
Gang violence in federal prisons and provincial jails has been an ongoing problem.
Correctional Service Canada official Esther Mailhot said in an email Friday that the department “continues to work diligently to ensure the safety and security of federal institutions.”
“Prison violence is not tolerated. Disciplinary action is taken, and in some cases criminal charges are laid against offenders involved in violent incidents,” she said.
She said institutions carefully manage “gangs, organized-crime members and affiliates, as well as incompatible offenders.”
Both McKinnon, the Nanaimo victim, and Navas-Rivas, who will be remembered at a memorial in New Brighton Park on Saturday, were identified in parole decisions as having been involved in a number of violent attacks inside federal prisons.
In McKinnon’s case, the board noted in a decision last year that he had “been segregated on six occasions for various reasons, including assaults on other inmates.”
He maintained gang affiliations while in jail and was believed to be “involved in the institutional drug sub-culture,” the parole decision said.
Because there was concern McKinnon might be hunted once released, the board decided not to place him in a halfway house both because of “the danger that would exist for staff and other residents” and because he would be easy to find “for those wanting to cause (him) harm.”
Instead, the parole board ordered him to live on his own with a curfew, an electronic monitoring bracelet and other conditions that in the end couldn’t save him.
The parole board noted that Navas-Rivas committed several serious acts of violence in the community, then continued on once he was arrested.
“Your violence has continued following incarceration. While in remand you engaged in a fight with another inmate and were suspected of being involved in assaults and coordinating assaults against other inmates,” a 2016 parole decision said. “Your behaviour did not improve following your transfer into the federal system. You have reportedly been involved in four assaults against other inmates. In two of these assaults, an edged weapon was used.”
In one of the prison attacks, he punched his victim before “later using an ice pick-style weapon to stab him multiple times,” the parole documents said. “You and your two accomplices then punched, kicked and kneed the victim even after being ordered to stop by correctional staff.”
