E-Paper
Threat to public safety: 4 Punjab-origin gangsters on Vancouver police list
They are connected to gangs operating in the Metro Vancouver region like Hells Angels, Brothers Keepers, Kang and Red Scorpion
Police in the Canadian city of Vancouver has identified six alleged gangsters, including four Indo-Canadians, as they are linked to violence and may pose a threat to public safety.
The Vancouver Police Department or VPD said they may pose danger to the public simply because they may be targeted by rival gang members. It released a poster featuring them and also posted it on social media.
The six are brothers 38-year-old Barinder, and Meninder Dhaliwal, 28, Harjit, 38, and Garinder Deo, 35, also brothers, Ekene Anigbo, 22, and Damion Ryan, 41. They are connected to gangs operating in the Metro Vancouver region like Hells Angels, Brothers Keepers, Kang and Red Scorpion.
This announcement came a week after a 28-year-old linked to gang activity, Karman Grewal, was executed by suspected rivals outside the main terminal of the Vancouver International Airport or YVR on the afternoon of May 9.
The Vancouver Sun reported that a third Dhaliwal brother Harb, was gunned down outside a restaurant in Vancouver on the evening of April 17. Similarly, it said another Deo brother, Sukh, was the victim of a targeted shooting in Toronto in 2016.
“Gang violence continues to be a prominent public safety issue in Metro Vancouver. There have been numerous reckless, brazen acts of violence that threaten the safety of innocent bystanders,” VPD chief constable Adam Palmer said in a statement, which was accompanied with a poster featuring photographs of the dozen mentioned in it.
The VPD pointed out there have been 20 gang-related homicides in Metro Vancouver this year alone and 20 attempted murders. “Police are expecting the violence to continue and escalate,” the statement noted.
Indo-Canadians have been prominent in the gang landscape in the region for many years.
“Our police intelligence leads us to believe that the individuals we have identified today may be targeted by rival gang members. My greatest concern right now, related to the ongoing gang violence, is that an innocent bystander will be hurt or killed during a shooting targeting a gangster,” Palmer said, as he cautioned Vancouver residents “to know the faces of these individuals and to keep their distance from them.”
The department has also initiated a new taskforce to deal with the escalating gang violence. Called Taskforce Threshold, it was launched on May 12.
The statement also said that VPD is “continuing to share intelligence with and collaborate with other police agencies in Metro Vancouver, including the RCMP and Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia.
