Canada:9 Indo-Canadian gangsters held in drug trafficking

The Canada police busted  a major drug trafficking ring and arrested 9 alleged gangsters of Indian origin are facing a total of 73 charges. The investigations that had been a part of the joint operation lasted 18 months and focused a “violent drug trafficking community working in Calgary and all through Western Canada”, in keeping with an announcement issued by the Calgary Police Service (CPS). The CPS operation in Alberta resulted in the arrest of nine individuals while that undertaken by police in the province of Saskatchewan led to the apprehension of six more persons. The investigation was started in early 2020 by the Calgary police guns and gangs unit, targeting those thought to be contributing to a rise in gun violence in the city.

Investigators in Calgary alleged that the network “had been engaged in conflict with a rival drug trafficking network in the city, and that combined, the two groups were responsible for more than 20 violent events in Calgary that spanned just over a year, including a double homicide that occurred in April 2019”. The alleged gang members are mainly Indo-Canadians. Those arrested in Calgary were identified as Amandeep Saggu, Ravneet Gill, Prabhjyot Bhatti, Jarmanjit Datewas, Jaskaran Sidhu, and Jasman Dhaliwal,  Also arrested in Calgary were Steven Whyte, Safwan Riaz and Irkham Farooq. Those arrested in Saskatoon included  Japjee Minhas, Rajandeep Singh and  Gurkeert Hehar. Also arrested were Ali Sarfraz, Andrew Karamat and Rachel Kidd.

Among the material recovered by CPS were six firearms, over 55,000 Canadian dollars worth of drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl pills and patches, crack cocaine, marijuana, phenacetin, benzodiazepine, and prescription pills, and over 300,000 in Canadian currency. Seizures in Saskatoon included 226,600 Canadian dollars, 4177.96 grams of cocaine, 166.99 grams of fentanyl, 67.06 grams of methamphetamine, 568.92 grams of marijuana and six vehicles.