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Pubdate: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers Contact: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/include/letterToEditor.php Website: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531 Author: Don Plant SOLDIERS LINKED TO INDO GANGS There's a new gang in town that's wielding deadly weapons and vying for drug money. Two members of Independent Soldiers were arrested in Kelowna last week with a loaded 9-mm handgun, a crossbow, 18 9-mm gun barrels, cash and paraphernalia related to the gang, police say. It's the first time members have been arrested in the Central Okanagan, and the pair were definitely living here, said Const. Annie Linteau. "Kelowna's becoming a bigger community. These people will come and establish themselves in other, smaller communities. The numbers are very fluid," she said Monday. Officers used a search warrant to raid a home in Rutland last Thursday. The two men, ages 22 and 25, were arrested at the house and face numerous charges. The gang has been associated with Indo-Canadian criminals, but Kelowna RCMP say the "Soldiers" are comprised of people from various ethnic backgrounds. Like other organized-crime groups, they could be linked to drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering and property crime, said RCMP Supt. Bill McKinnon. "It's a real concern of ours that organized crime exists . . . in this community. Whether it be the Hells Angels moving into town, Vietnamese gangs, Indo-Canadian gangs, it's a real concern because of all the crime that comes with it," he said. Vancouver police say the Independent Soldiers consist of Indo-Canadian gangsters who are battling rival groups involved in drug trafficking. Kelowna RCMP don't know whether the gang is tolerated by the Hells Angels here. "The pie's big enough for everyone," said McKinnon. "There's room for a number of organized-crime groups to operate in this area. We have a significant population." On Sept. 10, members of the Independent Soldiers and another gang attacked each other with bar stools and broken bottles at a downtown nightclub in Vancouver. The gang's leader, Sukhvinder Singh (Bicky) Dosanjh, was killed in a car accident in Vancouver days later. Guns and other weaponry are used to intimidate and carve out the gang's drug turf, say police. Most of the recent murders in the Central Okanagan have been drug-related. "Organized-crime groups play for keeps. With that we see a lot of violence," said McKinnon. "In the Lower Mainland, (there are) drive-by shootings." The RCMP's latest annual report on organized crime in B.C. ranks the Indo-Canadian groups third, after outlaw bikers and Asians, when it comes to strength and organization. The two arrested Thursday remain in custody. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek