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Canadian police issue public safety warning amid rise in gang activity
The police warning comes during the culmination of a year that has witnessed a surge in violent gang activity, particularly in British Columbia, with several incidents involving Indo-Canadians
Canadian law enforcement on Friday issued a danger to public safety alert over the alleged involvement of two Indo-Canadians in gang activity and the violence associated with it.
Both individuals, identified by the Surrey unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as Karnvir Garcha, 24, and Harkirat Jhutty, 22, are residents of the town of Surrey in the province of British Columbia (BC).
A statement from Surrey RCMP said the warning was being issued due to “a significant threat to the public posed by these individuals through their connection to criminal activity and high levels of violence, police believe that anyone connected to or in proximity to them may be putting themselves at risk”.
According to Surrey RCMP’s major crime team lead, Inspector Bal Hansra, Jhutty and Garcha have been informed by the police of credible threats to their safety, and also the safety of anyone who associates or is in proximity to them.
“Due to their association with gang activity, the drug trade, and violent acts such as shootings, these individuals have put themselves, their families, and the community at risk,” the statement said, in which Staff Sergeant Lindsay Houghton of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-BC) noted that despite the threats to their lives and the safety of others around them, these individuals had shown little regard for public safety in the community.
The police warning comes during the culmination of a year that has witnessed a surge in violent gang activity, particularly in British Columbia, with several incidents involving Indo-Canadians.
In August this year, CFSEU-BC issued a warning listing 11 individuals linked to gangs who posed a threat to the public and nine of those included were Indo-Canadians, mainly with roots in Punjab. CFSEU-BC is the largest integrated police programme in Canada, made up of members from every police department in BC province.
The Indian government has previously flagged its concerns to Canada over “translocational and transnational” gangs operating in its territory. Investigative agencies have exchanged information about seven Indian gang leaders based in Canada directing gang activity in India and their growing nexus with pro-Khalistan elements.
This was the second year in a row the unit issued such a warning listing alleged gangsters. Among those listed in 2021 was Meninder Dhaliwal. He didn’t figure in the 2022 list because on July 24, he was gunned down in the town of Whistler, along with Satindera Gill. Two people were arrested in that regard, indentified as 24-year-old Gursimran Sahota and 20-year-old Tanvir Khakh, both from the town of Surrey.
In May 2021, Dhaliwal was also among six gangsters identified by the Vancouver Police Department as posing a danger to the public simply because they were potential targets for rival gang members.
Sahota, the Vancouver Sun reported, was charged in local robberies in 2019 along with Karman Grewal. On May 9 last year, Grewal, 28, was executed by suspected rivals outside the main terminal of the Vancouver International Airport, with the suspects firing upon pursuing police while fleeing.
No arrests have been made in that case. Grewal was considered “very close” to gangster Jimi Sandhu, who was deported to India in 2016.
