Public warning: 11 B.C. gang members who police say pose ‘significant threat’
Posted August 3, 2022 12:23 pm.
Last Updated August 3, 2022 12:36 pm.
The ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict has prompted police in B.C. to issue a warning about 11 people who pose a “significant threat to the public.”
“These individuals are known to police and have been connected to high levels of gang and organized crime-related violence,” the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) said.
“Police believe that anyone with, or in the proximity to these individuals may be putting themselves at risk.”
CFSEU-BC says family, friends, and associates of these gang members, as well as the general public, should “take measures to increase their own public safety.”
Police are warning about the following people:
- Shakiel Basra: 28 years old
- Jagdeep Cheema: 30 years old
- Barinder Dhaliwal: 39 years old
- Gurpreet Dhaliwal: 35 years old
- Samroop Gill: 29 years old
- Sumdish Gill: 28 years old
- Sukhdeep Pansal: 33 years old
- Amarpreet Samra: 28 years old
- Ravinder Samra: 35 years old
- Andy St Pierre: 40 years old
- Richard Joseph Whitlock: 40 years old
The gang conflict has led to several murders and attempted murders in recent months, many of which happened in public.
A recent, high-profile case was on July 24 in Whistler, where two men were gunned down in the heart of the village in the resort town. The shooting happened over the noon hour on a busy weekend.
The CFSEU-BC says they are “expecting the violence to continue in the coming weeks and months.”
“The very public and brazen gang-related violence in our communities is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Ass. Comm. Will Ng with the BC RCMP.
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Assistant Commissioner Manny Mann warns these gang members can be anywhere in the region and beyond.
“They travel throughout the province, committing gang related acts of violence and may be targeted themselves by others also involved in the conflict,” he said.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia shared a posted, showing 11 gang members they say pose a threat to public safety. (Courtesy: CFSEU-BC)
Although they are releasing these photos in order to put the public on alert, police are trying to assuage concerns by committing resources.
“I want to reassure the public that the police have allocated significant investigative and operational resources to address gang violence. The VPD and our policing partners are committed to combatting the risk that these 11 individuals, and the crime groups they represent, pose to our communities,” said Deputy Chief Const. Fiona Wilson, with the Vancouver Police Department.
If you have any information about recent gang violence in the region, or see any other suspicious activity, you’re asked to report it to police right away.
