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Indo-Canadian organized crime

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"Punjabi mafia" redirects here. For the Punjabi mafia in India, see Organised crime in India § Punjab mafia.

Indo-Canadian organized crime
Founding locationBritish Columbia
Years active1980s–present
TerritoryPrinciple location:

Punjab, India

Controlled Territory: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Yukon, Washington, Alaska

Areas of Influence: Nova Scotia, California, Oregon, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, United Kingdom, Australia,[1] New Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Italy, Greece, Russia, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica, El Salvador

Minor Connections: Spain, Germany, France, Africa, India, United Arab Emirates
EthnicityMostly Punjabi-Canadian, other ethnicities include Indo-Fijian and Indo-Caribbean Canadians[2][3]
Criminal activitiesAssassination, drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, weapon trafficking, illegal gambling, robbery, chop shop, assault, loan sharking, racketeering, extortion, contract killing, kidnapping

Indo-Canadian organized crime is made up predominantly of young adults and teenagers of Indian ethnic, cultural and linguistic background. Collectively, these groups are among the top 5 major homegrown organized crime hierarchy across the nation in Canada coming in 3rd place, after the Asian Triads and White biker gangs.[4] The 2004 RCMP British Columbia Annual Police Report ranked them third in terms of organization and sophistication in British Columbia, ranked behind outlaw motorcycle clubs and aforementioned Chinese criminal organizations such as the Triads drug clans.[5]

History

Some of the young men involved today in crime may come from first-generation backgrounds but the majority are second and third-generation Punjabi-Canadians. These individuals were initially involved in petty street crimes, but older and more calculating criminals from the community quickly saw opportunities to make a profit from the situation. Often using clan-based ties and connections in their ancestral homeland, mainly in the parts of the Punjab, organized criminals from there were able to build criminal empires making use of young street gangs.[5] During the period from 2006 to 2014, 34 South Asians made up 21.3% of gang related deaths in British Columbia.[6]

In the 1980s, there was a violent struggle to have the Punjab break away from India to found a new state to be called Khalistan ("the land of the pure").[7] In June 1984, the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, had the Indian Army storm the most sacred site for Sikhs, the Golden Temple or the Darbar Sahib ("abode of God") in Amritsar, which had been taken over by armed Sikh separatists.[7] During the ensuing battle between 5–8 June 1984, the Darbar Sahib was severely damaged with over 492 deaths. The incident was seen by many Sikhs around the world as a massacre and a declaration of war by India upon their community.[7][8][9] In Canada, some members in the Sikh community started to engage in revolutionary activities in support of Khalistan.[10] Though the intention was initially political, some of the activists also started to engage in organized crime as a way to raise money for the struggle.[10] Ranjit "Ron" Dosanjh, the president of the Vancouver chapter of the separatist International Sikh Youth Federation, became the leader alongside his brother Jimsher "Jimmy" Dosanjh of the Dosanjh gang.[11]

One man who led the gangster lifestyle was Gurmit Singh Dhak, leader of the once Dhak gang.[12] After being arrested in the early 2000's with kilos of drugs and a loaded firearm, Dhak was contacted by the Odd Squad of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about making an anti-gang video for high school students.[12] In a video made in June 2010, Dhak stated the swaggering, macho aggression of the gangsters hid a deep insecurity and fear as he stated that to live the life of a gangster was to live in fear, never knowing when someone would try to kill him and never knowing who to trust.[13] Dhak stated: "...if I could turn back time, I would never do it again. Every day I've got to look over my shoulder; I've got to worry about my family, I've got to worry about, if I jump out of my car, am I going to get shot? Or, you know, I could be walking in the mall and walking out and getting shot. I don't know...Oh, I want to get out. But it's too late now to get out. I have too many enemies".[13] On October 16, 2010, Dhak was found shot dead in the driver's seat of his black BMW SUV, which was parked in the parking lot of the Metrotown Mall in Burnaby.[13] His murder remains unsolved.

Rivals have posted rap songs advocating murder such as a young man from Surrey, alleged to have committed two murders and charged by RCMP, posted an online tribute to the murdered Gavinder Grewal, the deceased founder of the Brothers Keepers gang.[14] Tyrel Nguyen Quesnelle, using his rapper name "T-Sav", boasted in his rap song My Life that he was willing to both kill and die for his deceased gang-leader, Grewal.[14] T-sav rapped in his song: "They took GG from us, realest trapper ever living. I swear we riding out for you till they all ain't living." and "I caught my first body when you was in school...Brothers Keepers, that's a life contract, little nigga."[14] Police in the Lower Mainland maintain that songs glorifying violence and criminality while boasting about drug dealing and murder are increasing tensions between gangs.[14]

The Brothers Keepers are not the only gang threatening their enemies musically as in the fall of 2019, after he was released from a jail, the rapper Lolo Lanski posted his song Dedman to SoundCloud and YouTube.[14] As of January 24, 2020, the song had 80,000 downloads.[14] The song denounces the Brother Keepers and describes how Grewal was shot inside his penthouse home in 2017.[14] The lyrics of Dedman admiringly declare that the killer "sent lead to his head" and the assassination was "trying to put a BK [Brother's Keeper] on TV."[14] In a bizarre note, Dedman also includes an audio excerpt of the 911 call made by Grewal's brother Manbir after he found his brother's corpse in the penthouse.[14] The use of rap in the present underworld conflict between the Brothers Keepers vs. both the Kang group and the United Nations gang is new, but police in B.C. have stated they have witnessed an overlap between rap and the underworld subcultures before.[14]

A major drug bust conducted in April 2021 broke up an Indo-Canadian trafficking network primarily based in Brampton, Ontario. Of the 28 arrested, the majority were India-born Punjabi men. Police seized $2.3 million worth of drugs including 10 kilograms of cocaine, eight kilograms of ketamine, three kilograms of heroin and 2.5 kilograms of opium. Additionally, 48 firearms and $730,000 in Canadian currency were seized as part of the bust.[15] This criminal network was reported by York Regional Police, Toronto Police Services, Peel Regional Police, RCMP and the DEA to operate as far as Western Canada, California and India.[16]

Reports in 2024 indicated that the Indian government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has allegedly hired and instructed the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to target Sikh separatists and critics of the Indian government in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have accused Indian diplomats of collecting intelligence on Sikh individuals opposing the Modi administration and sharing this information with the Bishnoi gang, which then executed acts of violence, including shootings and arson, against these targets.[17] The RCMP's allegations suggest that Indian officials leveraged their diplomatic positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as gathering information through coercion or involuntary means, and utilizing organized crime elements like the Bishnoi group to carry out violent operations on Canadian soil.[18] In response, the Canadian government expelled six Indian diplomats, citing their involvement in these activities. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emphasized the need to disrupt the chain of operations linking Indian diplomats to criminal organizations responsible for violence in Canada. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang, led by Lawrence Bishnoi, is a notorious criminal syndicate in India, implicated in various crimes, including extortion and murder. Reports suggest that the gang has extended its operations internationally, with associates present in countries like Canada many of whom allegedly "entered the country under the guise of international students". These developments have significantly strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India, with both nations expelling diplomats and issuing statements condemning each other's actions.

In late October 2024, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) executed a major raid on what they identified as Canada's largest and most complex drug “super lab,” allegedly linked to transnational organized crime. This extensive operation uncovered a primary facility located in Falkland, British Columbia, with associated sites in Vancouver, Richmond and Surrey. The lab was primarily engaged in the production of fentanyl and methamphetamine on a massive scale, intended for distribution within Canada and for export.[19] During the raid, law enforcement seized 54 kilograms of fentanyl and 390 kilograms of methamphetamine, alongside substantial quantities of precursor chemicals essential for manufacturing these drugs. Additional illicit substances, including vast quantities of cocaine, MDMA, and cannabis, were also discovered at the sites, suggesting a multifaceted drug production and distribution operation. The raid also led to the confiscation of an extensive cache of weapons and explosives. Authorities recovered a total of 89 firearms, including handguns, AR-15-style rifles, a .50 caliber machine gun and submachine guns, along with several small explosive devices, high-capacity magazines, silencers, and body armor. Approximately $500,000 in Canadian currency was also seized, indicating the scale of financial resources involved in this operation. Gaganpreet Singh Randhawa, was arrested in connection with the lab's operations and now faces numerous charges related to drug trafficking and firearms violations.

Activities

Gangs and criminal organizations within the Punjabi-Canadian community have also been noted for adopting the rigid structure and rules of the Punjabi Mafia, with strict rules against talking to police and against any kind of drug use amongst members and associates aside from alcohol or cigarettes use, though excessive use of these substances is also allegedly met with punishment within the gangs.[20][21][22]

The main trade of the Indo-Canadian crime groups are murder-for-hire operations, along with arms trafficking, racketeering, extortion, assassinations, and the trafficking of cocaine, heroin, MDMA, methamphetamine and cannabis.[23][24] Punjabi-Canadian crime bosses initially used their family connections in the Punjab to bring in the heroin drug from the "Golden Crescent" nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran where much of the world's heroin was once produced and where they worked with the government officials of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan to smuggle drugs.[23] However, in the late 1990s, Pakistani and Afghan heroin suppliers Mohamed Shafiq and Mohammed Yusuf Khan became DEA informants causing the extradition of crime boss Ranjit Cheema to a California prison.[25] This caused Punjabi-Canadian crime bosses to stop doing any business in Pakistan and the Middle East and instead they began importing heroin from the "Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)" nations of Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, where the heroin quality is also much higher.[25][23][24]

Criminal groups

Most Indo-Canadian crime groups in Ontario and Alberta are either several clans controlled by one family with friends and relatives associated with the group or sometimes networks of truck drivers involved in cross-border drug smuggling that are classified as gangs. The largest organized Indo-Canadian gang presence is in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.[26]

The largest crime groups are:

  • Brothers Keepers (gang): Founded by Gavinder Singh Grewal and Barinder "Shrek" Dhaliwal, most of the gang's members and leadership formerly made up the Red Scorpions leadership, but split off from the Red Scorpions to form its own group and allegedly targeted remaining Red Scorpions members across British Columbia cities beginning in Spring 2016 and heating up in Fall 2017, such as Red Scorpion gang founder and leader Konaam Shirzad who was murdered in Sept 2017, despite the conflict with the Red Scorpions gang the Brothers Keepers would remain a part of the Wolfpack[27] whereas the Red Scorpions under Jamie Bacon and Sam Kang would leave the Wolfpack Alliance.[28][29][30] This organization is active mainly in Metro Vancouver but is believed to have made inroads into all across British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Montana.[31] The brothers keepers gang is believed by police in BC to be among the most "prominent and violent" gangs on the west coast[32], investigations also highlighted the gang's strategy to expand into new markets within the province, utilizing tactics such as reduced drug prices for street level dealers they supply, branded products (like purple fentanyl), and increased potency of drugs they supply.[33] The BK gang was suspected to have up to 200 "official" members as of 2020, while their unofficial associates numbered up to 900 associates[34] spanning several provinces and into the United States, meanwhile police consider the leadership to be the dozen or so core membership which were also the founding members. The high-profile killing of Harpreet (Harp) Uppal along with his 11-year-old son Gavin, who was an innocent bystander, in Edmonton in 2023 made national headlines in Canada and also outlined the national reach of the BC gang conflict as the killing was suspected to be retaliation for the killing of UN gangster Parmvir Chahil in Toronto the day earlier, Edmonton police would confirm that Harp Uppal was a "high-level organized crime figure in Alberta" and that he was a member of the Brothers Keepers.[35] The Brothers Keepers are known to be allied with the Driftwood Crips of Toronto and according to the Vancouver Sun: "The Driftwood Crips, who have been active in the drug-and-gun trade since the mid-1990s, have aligned with, and are running, drug lines for the Brothers Keepers, a B.C. outfit that is locked in a bloody Lower Mainland gang conflict with rivals from at least two other groups."[36] Since the founding of the gang, some prominent high-level figures and some low-level members have been targeted and slain including founder Gavinder "Gavin" Grewal whose brother Manbir found him dead at his North Vancouver apartment on December 22, 2017.[37] One of the founding BK members, Harpreet Singh Majhu, was found dead in a burned out vehicle just outside of Agassiz in June 2016. He had just committed a trans-national hit along with another Kang associate Orosman Jr. Garcia-Arevalo, both Majhu and Garcia were under the Kang faction which was still a part of BK at the time. The pair were hired by Notorious Drug Lord Naji Sharifi Zindashti to take out fellow Drug Lord Cetin Koc as a revenge hit in Dubai. They snuck up on and blasted Koc as he sat in his vehicle, motor still running. The two sped away and made it out of the country only to meet their demise just a few weeks later as Garcia-Arevalo would later be found dead in an Abbotsford blueberry field on May 11, 2016, alleged to be ordered by the leader of the gang, Gavin Grewal who was rumoured to keep a larger than anticipated portion of the 2 million dollars paid for the Dubai hit to the alleged shooters by Zindashti, allegedly leading to the split and formation of BIBO gang by the Kangs and those working for them and the feud with the Brothers Keepers.[38] Matthew Navas-Rivas was on the annual BK boat cruise just days before he was shot to death on July 25, 2018. He and his crew of Troy McKinnon and Cody Sleigh were Independent Soldiers members, who along with the rest of Independent Soldiers and Wolfpack would become rivals with the Red Scorpions and BIBO gang while aligning themselves with the Brothers Keepers gang.[39] Troy McKinnon and Cody Sleigh were also found gunned down on January 15, 2018, and July 21, 2020, respectively.[40] On February 1, 2019, a former associate of Manny Buttar, Bicky Khakh was gunned down in Surrey. He was with fellow friend and gang associate Harb Dhaliwal when the two were shot at in Richmond on December 21, 2018.[41] In April 2019 Daniel Singh Grewal, the cousin of founder Gavin Grewal was shot and injured. This resulted in a car chase that ended with paramedics arriving and police arresting the five suspects. Since the arrests four of the five men have since been murdered; Austin Singh Grewal on April 26, 2019, Iqubal Singh Grewal on September 16, 2020, Julian Moya Cardenas on January 7, 2022, and Kevin Allaraj along with his associate Jeevan Saepan on June 4, 2022.[42] Suminder Grewal of the Hells Angels Hardside Chapter was gunned down at a Starbucks on August 2, 2019.[43] High-ranking Keepers members; Harb Singh Dhaliwal and Barinder Singh Dhaliwal alongside hitman Tyrel Nguyen Quesnelle were photographed attending the funeral of Full-patch Hells Angel member Suminder Singh Grewal.[44] Anees Mohammed, a former associate of Jujhar Singh Khun-Khun and the Dhak Group, who had switched to the Wolf Pack and Brothers Keepers side years ago, was gunned down in Richmond on January 7, 2021. This was suspected retaliation for the Gary Kang murder just one day prior.[45] Harb Singh Dhaliwal was gunned down outside Cardero's Restaurant on April 17, 2021, in a brazen shooting.[46] His brother Meninder, chased the assailant and stabbed him in the eye.[47] According to police, in retaliation for the Dhaliwal murder, high-level UN gangster Todd Gouwenberg who was fatally shot April 20, 2021 at about 9 a.m. as he arrived to work out at the Langley Sportsplex in Langely. Brothers Keepers gangsters and brothers Jaskeert Singh and Gurkeert Singh Kalkat were murdered only nine days apart in mid-May 2021.[48][49] Jaskeert was a prime suspect in the murder of high profile and long-time United Nations gangster Karman Singh Grewal at YVR on Mother's Day. Juvraj Singh Jabal fell victim to an alleged revenge hit on February 8, 2022, and succumbed to his injuries on the 10th.[50] It was suspected retaliation from the Jimi Sandhu murder one week prior in Thailand. On July 25, 2022, Meninder Singh Dhaliwal and friend Satinder Singh Gill were gunned down outside a busy hotel in the Whistler Ski Village of B.C. Meninder along with his brother Barinder were put on a list along with four others as gangsters who pose a risk to themselves and to the public. He was the second main suspect along with Jaskeert Kalkat the man who murdered Karman Grewal. Meninder's alleged killers were apprehended by RCMP within a couple of hours. One of them Gursimran Sahota had close ties to Karman.[51] Both Sahota and Tanvir Khak are alleged UN members.[52] A week before the murder of Meninder Dhaliwal and his friend on July 14, the body of UN gangster Chris Irwin was found in Burnaby. He had been targeted twice in previous months but survived both attempts on his life, police believed he had been targeted by the Brothers Keepers gang.[53] On September 12, 2022, Sameh Ali Mohammed was gunned down in Brampton, Ontario. He was the older brother of higher-profile BK member Naseem "Lil' Man" Mohammed. The OPP and RCMP believe this to be a retaliation hit for the murder of UN member Arman Singh Dhillon in August in Oakville, Ontario.[54] The RCMP's 18-month investigation into the Brothers Keepers gang led to eight members being charged with various drug and firearms offences, including the dismantling of a large-scale drug lab. The probe uncovered a murder plot conspiracy by alleged high-level BK gangster Michael Manpreet Johal which was allegedly targeting rival UN gangster Gagandeep Sandhu who ended up being killed, leading to additional conspiracy charges for Johal and 3 of his alleged BK underlings whom he hired as hitmen tasked with the alleged hit job. A significant seizure included 356,000 pills containing fentanyl and other substances, pill presses and an "industrial-sized drug lab in South Surrey which could produce 60,000 pills an hour, meaning its operators were likely involved in exportation to other countries on top of production for the domestic market. Police also seized four illegal firearms, over 1,500 rounds of ammunition, and 168 kilograms of precursor chemicals containing fentanyl, benzodiazepines, methamphetamines and carfentanil"[55], highlighting the operation's scale and its conspiracy for international drug exportation into Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the US.[56][57]
  • Dhak-Duhre Group: This group was alleged to supply and was aligned with the United Nations as a part of the coalition and this group was alleged to be active across British Columbia and Alberta.[58][59] Although some of the original leaders such as Sandip Singh Duhre, Gurmit Singh Dhak and Sukhveer Singh Dhak have been killed, the associates of the murdered leaders are suspected by RCMP to remain connected to crime groups themselves and are involved in importing and exporting drugs from Mexico into Canada.[60] The Dhak-Duhre coalition is known to have strong ties the UN gang and is known to have waged a war against the Wolf Pack alliance, a gang alliance composed of the Independent Soldiers gang, the Red Scorpions gang and the Hells Angels.[61] The Sandhu-Sidhu Crime Group is a group that operated under and later absorbed the Dhak-Duhre group and was founded by leaders Jimi "Slice" Sandhu and Sandeep Sidhu and was once mostly based out of the Townline Hill Neighbourhood of Abbotsford B.C. They have mostly been at odds with the Dhaliwal-Grewal-Kang coalition that was part of the Red Scorpions before splintering themselves. They remain at odds with the Dhaliwal-Grewal group a la the "Brothers Keepers" and the Red Scorpion "Kang-Latimer" faction. They are well-known allies of the remnants of the UN gang, the Dhak-Dhure, Manj group and the Ruffians. On January 2, 2014, Red Scorpion acting leader Matt Campbell was stabbed in the neck by Sandhu as they bumped into each other coincidentally at the Abbotsford Auto Mall.[62] He was charged with second-degree murder but the charges were later stayed.[63] Sandhu was deported to India in early 2016 but was still making appearances in Canada while deported. Navdeep Sidhu, the younger brother of Sandeep, and his associate Harman Mangat were fatally wounded on January 12, 2017. The two were gunned down in Edmonton, Alberta thus spanning the Dhaliwal-Grewal-Kang rivalry with the Sandhu-Sidhu-Chahil group out of province.[64] On February 4, 2022, Sandhu was gunned down outside his Thailand Villa by two ex-infantry members; Matthew Dupre and Gene Lahrkamp of the Canadian Military.[65] Jimi Sandhu was considered a leading figure and leader in the United Nations gang at the time of his death.[66][67] The Manj Crime Group is also apart of the Dhak-Duhre group founded in the mid-2000s by brothers Jodh and Aman Manj. This was one of the major groups involved in the 2009 Vancouver Gang War. They had been aligned with the Adiwal Brothers prior to Peter Adiwal being shot in May 2009 which the Manj's had been accused of being involved in. They then aligned themselves with the Dhak-Duhre group after Mike Adiwal and the Deo brothers took control over the Independent Soldiers and joined Larry Amero to form the Wolfpack.[68][69] The main rival of the Manj Group was initially the Sanghera Crime Family and later the Wolfpack.[70] The two constantly hunted each other through the streets of East Vancouver along with another group the Malli-Buttar Coalition in 2009 and prior.[71] This group is considered to be semi-defunct as both leaders of the group have been murdered majority of the group however continues supplying the UN gang and is closely aligned with the remainder of the Dhak-Duhre coalition and the Sidhu-Sandhu crime group. Jodh Manj was found slain in Mexico on December 2018 after being suspected by both Mexican police and Canadian RCMP of being involved in the murder of Hells angel associates Gussiuppe Bugge and Nabil Alkhalil of the Wolfpack, both of whom were killed in Mexico, by the times of Jodh and Amandeep's deaths in 2018 and 2021, they were suspected to be high-level exporters and importers of drugs into and out of Canada and Mexico, working closely with Mexican cartels.[72].[73] Aman Manj would go on to continue importation and exportation of weapons and drugs and later be found gunned down on September 15, 2021, in Downtown Vancouver.[74]
  • Dhaliwal Crime Family: Operating across the cities of Toronto, the greater Toronto Area and the major cities of Quebec, by a family, originally from Mississauga; the Dhaliwal crime family has been targeted by police numerous times, first in 1996 for running a $45 million a year organized crime group which according to crown prosecutors at the time; heavily engaged in everything from armed robberies to importing cocaine and heroin for trafficking, extortion, arms trafficking, murder, armed thefts of cars and kidnapping rival drugs and firearms traffickers, police alleged.[75][76] The Dhaliwal crime family founded and led by patriarch Balwinder Singh "Bill" Dhaliwal, 65 years old as of 2022, who was infamously dubbed the "King of Car Thieves" in an episode of the Canadian TV Series Masterminds as there was a smaller faction of the crime family which made $16 million a year solely from the stolen vehicle operations. The crime family has been targeted a total of five times by the RCMP and Toronto Police Services, with $15 Million in stolen wholesale goods being seized in the fourth and second-last police operation in 2016. They are currently estimated to be making a profit of 170–280 million on an annual basis from the exportation of cannabis into the US, as well as the sales of firearms and narcotics across Ontario and Quebec. The drug and firearm organization within the family was suspected of being controlled by purported kingpin Sukhjit Dhaliwal, who had been arrested in numerous police investigations dating back to the early 2000s in the most recent in 2021 named "Project Southam", Sukhjit would be accused to be the head of two separate organized crime groups importing large scale drugs shipments from Colombia and Central America and exporting cannabis into the United States in bulk and firearms back into Canada, in a over $10 million bust.[77][78][79][80][81]
  • Independent Soldiers Gang: Consisting of Canadians of Punjabi-Canadian, Indo-Fijian and Euro-Canadian ethnicities, which make up most of the gang, the gang was to be founded in the Sunset neighbourhood in South Vancouver.[82][83] This organization is part of the Wolf Pack and was founded as the "sunset boys" and this gang was involved in the 2009 Vancouver gang war.[84] On May 26, 2009, former leader and founder of the Independent Soldiers, Parminder "Peter" Adiwal was ambushed and shot 26 times in the parkade of his Burnaby condo by a rival gang. He "miraculously survived" and would later allegedly leave the gang "lifestyle".[85] High-profile gangster of the Independent Soldiers in Randy Naicker was gunned down in Port Moody, B.C. on June 24, 2012.[86] High-profile leader Sukhvir Deo was found slain in Toronto, Ontario on June 7, 2016. Two weeks prior he had been ejected from a Toronto Raptors playoff game. His face was all over multiple TV outlets making it easy for rivals to locate him.[87] Duncan Bailey a member of the Independent Soldiers, was one of victims in the airplane crash that killed fellow hit man Gene Lahrkamp.[88] The gang is believed to now be led by Harjit Singh Deo and Garinder Singh Deo, who are alleged to have taken control after the death of their older brother Sukhvir.
  • Kang Crime Family: Formerly a part of the Brothers Keepers organization but due to differences between members over financial disputes, has splintered and formed a new organization which is also called the "BIBO" Gang(Blood In, Blood Out Gang).[89] The name of the gang "Blood In, Blood Out" signifies that in order to join the gang one must spill blood for the gang and the only way out of the gang is death, as the BIBO gang is alleged to commit murders on orders, rather than for money through a contracted killing, supposedly the name of the gang also pays tribute to the 1993 film Blood In Blood Out.[89] The Kang Crime Family was founded by brothers Sameet Singh "Sam" Kang and Gary Singh Kang after a fallout with the Brothers Keepers gang. The group is similar to the "Sanghera Crime Family" in that they use many different family members as well as associates.[90][91] The group is known to be in a war with the Brothers Keepers for control of territory in Metro Vancouver, across British Columbia and Alberta.[92] This organization is thought to be based in Burnaby, British Columbia but its presence is thought to extend throughout British Columbia and Alberta.[93] According to court witness testimony along with police surveillance and drug seizures throughout "Project Territory"; detectives, intelligence analysts and prosecutors concluded that the Kang Group had been a supplier for the Red Scorpions gang and had been suppliers for the leader of the RS Gang outside of prison, Kyle Latimer.[94] Some of the founding members are in jail. Randy Kang along with his younger brother Gary Kang were shot on October 27, 2017. The two along with Camilo Alonso had been setup by former BK associates Hardii Cheema and Rohit Kumar.[95] Randy died on the scene while Gary lived. This is what police believe caused the revenge killing of Gavin Grewal. On January 6, 2021, Gary Kang was murdered inside his South Surrey home of the Morgan Creek Neighbourhood.[91] Sameet (Sam) Kang is suspected of controlling the gang from prison through his lieutenants outside of prison and in other prisons.[96][97]
  • Punjabi Mafia: Was alleged to be made up of the Dosanjh group, Johal group and Buttar group.[21] Parts of it other than the Buttar and Johal group are considered to be somewhat dismantled, with factions of the Johal and Buttar groups allegedly still operating. The Punjabi Mafia was originally founded by Ranjit Cheema, the Dosanjh Brothers and Robbie Kandola with a rival faction being controlled by Ranjit Chema and Bindy Johal before his death.[21] Former Const. Doug Spencer, who worked for years as a Vancouver Police Department gang specialist stated that the faction of the Punjabi Mafia controlled by Bindy Johal and Baljit (Bal) Buttar were "the first that went right out there and was ripping off other drug dealers on a regular basis,” Spencer stated. "They also started a taxing thing — if you didn’t pay them tax, you couldn’t sell drugs in their area." Spencer also stated that “I know he was an extremely violent hitman who did all of Bindy’s collecting and killing — self-admitted — he carried a reputation all over the Lower Mainland. Everyone knew him,” Spencer said about Buttar.[98] The Malli-Buttar group is a coalition which is a off-shoot faction of the Punjabi Mafia and is made up of two groups, one was founded and led by Tejinder Singh Malli prior to his death and the other was led by the Buttar brothers; Baljit(Bal-deceased), Manjit(Mani-retired) and Kuljit(Kelly-deceased), operating across British Columbia and Alberta, the group is known to operate at a high level.[99][100] This group was almost semi-defunct after the imprisonment of most of its members. This organization was the other group involved in the 2009 Vancouver gang war.[99]
  • The Ruffians: A gang made up entirely of international students from Punjab, India, some of whom had travelled to Canada for studies and job opportunities, this gang is claimed by police to have been founded in Abbotsford while operating across British Columbia municipalities in criminal activities such as contract killing, Drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, weapon trafficking, illegal gambling, robbery, chop shop, assault, loan sharking, extortion and kidnapping.[101][102] The Ruffians is alleged to have up to 300 members and was founded in 2019 by international students with purported ties to the UN gang/Sidhu-Sandhu crime group, according to Vancouver police.[101]
  • Sanghera Crime Family: Founded by Uddham Singh Sanghera, this crime family is believed by police to be responsible for over 100 shootings in the 2009 Vancouver gang war in Vancouver.[24][103] The Vancouver Police Department has targeted and for the most part been able to capture members of the group. The courts have sentenced members of the Sanghera family to prison terms although the large remnants of the organization are alleged to be active.[104] On March 8, 2017, Harjit Mann and Navdip Sanghera were shot at it in East Vancouver. Harjit died at the scene while Navdip succumbed to his injuries a day later.[105]

See also

References

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  19. ^ Press, Associated (31 October 2024). "Canadian Mounties bust massive drug 'super lab' linked to transnational organized crime". AP News.
  20. ^ Schneider, Stephen (2009). Iced : the story of organized crime in Canada. Mississauga, Ont.: Wiley. ISBN 978-0470835005.
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  25. ^ a b Bolan, Kim (May 2, 2012). "Ranjit Cheema's Two Decades on Vancouver's South Slope".
  26. ^ "The unusual suspects: How B.C.'s middle-class gangs are unlike any other in North America". CBC.
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  29. ^ "Vancouver/Lower Mainland Violent Deaths 2017". Prime Time Crime.
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  35. ^ Bolan, Kim (2023-11-12). "Deadly B.C. gang war spreading across Canada".
  36. ^ Brown, Scott (2020-03-04). "Three boys, all 16, busted in Kelowna with drugs, guns and stacks of cash". Vancouver Sun.
  37. ^ "IHIT investigating death of gang-linked Gavinder Grewal in North Vancouver | Vancouver Sun".
  38. ^ "REAL SCOOP: Alleged B.C. hitmen murdered within weeks of Dubai slaying | Vancouver Sun".
  39. ^ "REAL SCOOP: Murders stem from Wolf Pack internal conflict | Vancouver Sun".
  40. ^ "Second B.C. kidnapper shot dead after prison release | Vancouver Sun".
  41. ^ "REAL SCOOP: Surrey murder victim survived earlier shooting in Richmond | Vancouver Sun".
  42. ^ "Daniel Grewal - Introduction 👀 - The Dirty News". 25 August 2022.
  43. ^ "Hells Angel shot dead at Starbucks drive-thru in South Surrey | Vancouver Sun".
  44. ^ "Hells Angels pay respects to slain B.C. biker Suminder Grewal | Vancouver Sun".
  45. ^ "Richmond murder is suspected retaliation for Kang hit, sources say | Vancouver Sun".
  46. ^ "REAL SCOOP: Brothers Keepers gangster killed in Coal Harbour shooting | Vancouver Sun".
  47. ^ "Gangster's execution outside of a busy Vancouver restaurant was carefully planned: Court documents".
  48. ^ "Lower Mainland gang war erupts with another public shooting | Vancouver Sun".
  49. ^ "Retired Vancouver cop says fatal Calgary shooting linked to the ongoing lower mainland gang conflict".
  50. ^ "Surrey gang shooting now a homicide after one victim dies in hospital | Vancouver Sun".
  51. ^ "Two men charged after drugstore robberies in Surrey and Delta | Vancouver Sun".
  52. ^ "Brothers Keeper gangster, friend shot to death in Whistler | Vancouver Sun".
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  54. ^ Bolan, Kim (September 13, 2022). "B.C. Brothers Keepers gangster shot dead in Ontario". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  55. ^ Bolan, Kim (2024-03-23). "B.C. gangsters charged in RCMP probe into guns, an illicit drug lab, and murder plot".
  56. ^ Bolan, Kim (2024-02-24). "Lethal Exports: B.C. gangsters at the centre of a global drug trade".
  57. ^ Bolan, Kim (2024-02-24). "Lethal Exports: B.C. gangsters at the centre of a global drug trade".
  58. ^ "Duhre gang: Who are they?". theprovince.
  59. ^ "Fatal flashpoint: Gurmit Dhak's 2010 murder ignited a gang war that's still raging". vancouversun.
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  61. ^ Mall, Rattan (June 5, 2015). "It's still Dhak-Duhre group and United Nations gang versus 'Wolf Pack' of some Hells Angels with Independent Soldiers and Red Scorpions | Indo-Canadian Voice".
  62. ^ "Charge laid in Red Scorpion Matt Campbell's murder | Vancouver Sun".
  63. ^ "Charges Stayed in January 2014 Killing of Matt Campbell | Abbotsford News". 2 February 2015.
  64. ^ "REAL SCOOP: BC men linked to local conflict gunned down in Edmonton - UPDATED | Vancouver Sun".
  65. ^ "A murder in Phuket: B.C. gang conflict moves overseas | Vancouver Sun".
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  67. ^ "Former Abbotsford gangster gunned down at resort in Thailand". Surrey Now-Leader. 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  68. ^ "Amandeep (Deep) Manj, 23, was arrested".
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  70. ^ "Gang violence abating, but still 'a plague'". The Globe and Mail. August 13, 2009 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  71. ^ "Sanghera crime family member among two slain in Vancouver on Thursday | Vancouver Sun".
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  74. ^ "Gangster Aman Manj killed after more than a decade in the lifestyle | Vancouver Sun".
  75. ^ Kamath, A P. "How The $16 m Car Theft Racket Was Busted". www.rediff.com.
  76. ^ Grimaldi, Jeremy (25 November 2016). "Vaughan developer almost kidnapped by 'king of car thieves' gang: police". YorkRegion.com.
  77. ^ Wilford, Denette (2021-07-15). "22 charged, $10M in drugs seized in major bust of alleged GTA-based organized crime groups".
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  85. ^ Man gunned down in Burnaby highrise parking lot has gang links May 27, 2009
  86. ^ "Independent Soldiers gangster, convicted kidnapper Randy Naicker gunned down in Metro Vancouver | Vancouver Sun".
  87. ^ "Former Metro Vancouver gangster shot to death in Toronto | Vancouver Sun".
  88. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6441818
  89. ^ a b "High-profile gangster Gary Kang gunned down inside parents' house". vancouversun.
  90. ^ "Police probe leads to dozens of charges against Red Scorpion, Kang gangsters | Vancouver Sun".
  91. ^ a b "High-profile gangster Gary Kang gunned down inside parents' house | Vancouver Sun".
  92. ^ "Pressure cooker IED, $1.6M in cash and jewellery, 50kg of drugs seized in gang bust - NEWS 1130". City News 1130.
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  94. ^ "2020 BCSC 685 R. v. Latimer". www.bccourts.ca.
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  98. ^ Bolan, Kim (2011-11-05). "Bindy Johal Associate Bal Buttar Dies At 35".
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  100. ^ "Gangster killed in a double shooting on West Cordova Monday". Vancouver Sun.
  101. ^ a b "After Moosewala's murder, spotlight back on (Punjabi) gangs of Canada". The Indian Express. June 26, 2022.
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  105. ^ "REAL SCOOP: Nav Sanghera gunned down outside family home - UPDATED | Vancouver Sun".
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