EAST INDIAN GANG DEATHS: 60 IN 6 YEARS

Kidnappings Linked To Same Groups Have Doubled Since '99, Head Of Gang
Task Force Says

The head of B.C.'s Integrated Gang Task Force provided a glimpse
Friday into the violent world of Indo-Canadian gangs, saying the body
count for the last six years alone numbers 60 people.

Supt. John Robin of the Delta police department also said the number
of kidnappings linked to the same criminal gangs has doubled since
1999.

Police have had limited success in solving violent crimes in the
close-knit Indo-Canadian gang world, with a clearance rate of less
than 20 per cent.

That's because the victims of the violence are often other members of
the crime groups who are reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement,
Robin told dozens of community leaders, police and government
officials at a congress on public safety in Vancouver.

Robin said more than 50 per cent of the murders have occurred in
public places, which highlights the increasing risk to the general
public from gun violence. Four of those shot were innocent and not
involved in gangs, Robin said, citing the case of Port Moody's Laurie
Tinga, who was shot in the head last month as she sat on her couch
watching television.

Police blamed the incident on a shoot-out among Indo-Canadian
gangsters in front of Tinga's home. No one has been charged.

"Gang and organized crime murders are more difficult to investigate,"
Robin explained.

"Until recently, the Indo-Canadian community preferred to settle their
own differences."

The formation of the task force was announced a year ago by former
Solicitor-General Rich Coleman. Robin said it has been operational for
about seven months.

While the 60-member force is focusing on the disproportionate level of
Indo-Canadian gang violence, it will eventually target other groups of
gangsters, Robin said.

He said the task force has focused on intelligence gathering and
information sharing, but has also been instrumental in preventing some
acts of violence among its target group.

Much of what the force has been doing cannot be disclosed publicly,
Robin explained.

Robin said the profile of Indo-Canadian gangsters varies -- some come
from well-off families, while others are from poorer homes. Their
allegiances with each other are often developed as early as elementary
school, he said.

But he said their criminal relationships are fluid, with friends
turning on friends over small disputes.

"They can be allies one minute and enemies the next," Robin
said.

He said the Indo-Canadian crime groups are specializing in the
transportation of marijuana, particularly cross-border runs.

While Robin used pseudonyms to describe one mid-level group that had
been operating in south Vancouver, he was clearly talking about a gang
that was headed by Robbie Soomel until Soomel was arrested for killing
his former associate, Gurpreet Singh Sohi in September 2000.

Robin described Soomel as the 21-year-old leader of the drug gang,
while Sohi was the one who calculated the cross-border routes and
shipments. Soomel was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003, along
with Gogi Mann. Their appeal of their conviction will be heard later
this month.

Robin explained that Soomel and others in the group targeted Sohi
because they believed he had stolen marijuana from them.

Also convicted was Hardip Singh Uppal, a close friend of Sohi, who is
serving a five-year sentence for manslaughter.

The gang members lived at home, Robin said. In fact one person who
would have been involved in the hit on Sohi was spared the same fate
as his friends because his mom would not let him out on the night of
the murder.

Robin also said the task force is working to build strong
relationships within the Indo-Canadian community to help steer youth
away from criminal gangs.

Earlier Friday, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gary Bass said organized
crime in B.C. is exploding, with the number of criminal organizations
more than doubling, from 52 in 2003 to 108 this year.

B.C. residents are now leaders of international crime groups, Bass
said, citing the recent arrests of three British Columbians -- two in
the Caribbean and one in Spain -- for alleged involvement in
international cocaine trafficking.

"We really think now that B.C. is a key point in the international
illicit drug trafficking economy," Bass said.

The related violence and murder rate is increasing as well, Bass
said.

"We actually have a higher homicide rate here this year than Toronto
has," Bass said.

Deadly Numbers

Violence linked to B.C.'s Indo-Canadian gangs includes:

60 murders in the past six years, half of them occurring in public
places.

Four shooting victims were innocent.

Kidnappings have doubled since 1999.

Source: Integrated Gang Task Force