Pubdate: Tue, 06 Jan 2004 Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2004 Calgary Herald Contact: http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66 Author: Emma Poole DRUG MONEY AT CENTRE OF GANG VIOLENCE Asian crime groups a threat to safety: report Greed and infighting between members of a large Asian street gang over drug money splintered the group, leading to a spate of Calgary shootings, stabbings and at least two murders in the past 13 months. The revelation comes on the heels of a Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta report stating 21 Asian organized crime groups remain the most serious threat to the province's safety, more so than Eastern European criminals or the Hells Angels, whose Alberta membership is at an all-time low. "It always comes down to money, and -- this is no secret -- in any organization there's a breakdown on how the money flows through that organization," said acting Insp. Ken Marchant of the Calgary police organized crime control section. "These are people in the business of making money, whether be it drugs, weapons. "Everybody wants to move their product, and that's where you get the violence. A number of components in that relationship broke down and that created a struggle over a number of organized crime activities in Calgary." Next Monday, one of the alleged ringleaders of the rival gang, Nicholas Chan, is scheduled to appear in provincial court for a preliminary hearing on nearly a dozen charges, including directing a criminal organization. Chan and nearly 100 others were swept up in a massive police operation in June, the culmination of six-month investigation into local organized crime. Rival groups, made up of mainly Asians, have since gone underground. And while the city was plagued with overt violence by street gang members, police intelligence indicates other organized crime groups are running lucrative underground businesses without drawing attention. Eastern European organized crime groups, including Russians and Romanians, operate in the city and across the province. "Any of the countries in the former Soviet Union, in particular Russia, there's a significant number of people involved in organized crime," said CISA director Insp. Ian Cameron. "The more successful they become in their endeavours, the more underground they become." It's unlikely any of the five Eastern European organized crime groups in Alberta will carry out a drive-by shooting, Cameron said. Although they can be violent in their homeland, European gangsters prefer to remain under the radar here, he said. In September, police busted a group of transient Romanians who targeted drive-through bank machines, altering some to capture customer information. The scheme was thwarted before the men could get any cash. Alberta authorities in 2001 were also able to make a dent in the activities of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. Marchant said several members are still in jail. The group, which has three chapters in the province, is at its lowest membership, says the CISA report. Although only 39 fully patched Angels are in Alberta -- mainly running marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine -- police don't believe they are any less of a threat. "Just because intelligence appears that (their) numbers are going down doesn't mean they're not operating at a level that doesn't bring attention to themselves," said Marchant. To avoid the glare, the crime groups are moving to bedroom communities, such as Chestermere, the report says. Criminologist John Manzo said when criminals can no longer carry on their activity in the city, smaller markets can prove quite lucrative. "Density is very good for crime control," said Manzo, a professor at the University of Calgary. Manzo said Calgary does not suffer from a gang problem when compared with other similar cities in North America. Regardless, police in Alberta will continue to combine efforts to tackle organized crime, said Cameron. The Integrated Response to Organized Crime Unit, run by Calgary and Edmonton police as well as the RCMP, was established earlier this year. "There is a dedication amongst all police services in the province that we don't drop the ball on the other crime groups," said Cameron. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh