B.C. fentanyl dealer Walter James McCormick sentenced to 14 years in prison

Walter James McCormick, accused of bearing "personal significant responsibility for hundreds of fentanyl-detected deaths in British Columbia", has been given 14 years in prison, in the first major fentanyl-related sentencing in British Columbia since the opioid crisis began. He was sentenced Monday, after an extended trial that centred around the government's desire to create a new sentencing range for fentanyl trafficking, a case in which the Crown was asking for an unprecedented 18-year prison term. Judge Bonnie Craig said that the skyrocketing increase of fentanyl-related deaths in B.C. could not be set aside when deciding the sentencing range.

Thousands of pills were seized in Project Tainted

McCormick was one of 10 people arrested in relation to Project Tainted, a police operation carried out in response to a rash of overdoses in October 2014. More than 29,000 fentanyl pills were seized in the months-long investigation, along with oxycodone, methamphetamine, heroin and guns. While on bail, McCormick, who already had an extended history of drug trafficking, was subsequently charged with several new offences in Richmond, and had an additional 1,000 fentanyl pills seized on May 18, 2016.

Craig wrote that "when determining the appropriate sentence for Mr. McCormick I must take into account ... that an increasing number of people are dying due to the illegal sale of fentanyl," and that his criminal history showed "little evidence of any prospect for rehabilitation."

Francis Le identified in targeted Gang Murder

IHIT has identified 24-year-old Francis Le of Surrey as the victim of a targeted homicide in Richmond Friday night. Le was one of thirteen people charged with 66 drug-related and firearms offences in March 2016 following a 21-month long investigation into drug dealing in Surrey. Police executed four search warrants and seized large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and oxycodone. Police also seized two automatic submachine guns with five loaded high capacity magazines, a box of ammunition and more than $600,000 in cash.

Charged with 36 counts of trafficking and seven firearm-related offences are Sophon Sek of Surrey, Mona Khodabandehloo of Burnaby and Glen Hudson of Surrey. All are thought to be connected to the 'Red Scorpions' gang. Police say Le's murder does not appear to be connected to two homicides that occurred in the area earlier in the month.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448).

Hells Angels bikie Chris Bloomfield enrols in law school

Notorious Hells Angels bikie Chris Bloomfield has been accepted into one of Australia’s most prestigious law schools, despite facing trial over a violent extortion. Bloomfield, the bikie gang's enforcer, has enrolled in a law degree at the Gold Coast’s elite Bond University. Bond’s law faculty has produced some of Australia’s top lawyers and businesspeople.

Hulking and heavily tattooed, his appearance on Bond’s campus has stunned police and lawyers. He is on bail awaiting trial in the Southport District Court charged with extortion after he and two fellow Hells Angels allegedly bashed a man over a $20,000 drug debt, threatened to kill his family and took his BMW. Police alleged in court documents that the man received a text from Bloomfield warning: “Every week u don’t pay my fucking money 10 per cent is getting added onto that amount!! U wanna go to the cops I know where your fucking family lives and I’ll shoot every single one of those motherfuckers til I find you!!’ Bloomfield is believed to be financing his $135,000 degree with the help of a student loan.

Massive Raid on Haarlem Hells Angels; Netherlands - Update

The investigation of the Haarlem chapter of the Hells Angels has found weapons and drugs. Police searched 24 locations in the Netherlands, among them was the clubhouse in Haarlem. Drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy were found. At one of the locations searched, police found a small ecstasy lab. All nine members of the Haarlem chapter were arrested and remain in custody.

Police raided the clubhouse of the Hells Angels in Haarlem. At the same time a raid was also done at a second location in the city. In total police made ten arrests: nine men and one woman.

The nine men are between 35 and 64 years old and are all members of the club. They are suspected of extortion, threats, violence and arson. The clubhouse in Haarlem has been closed by order of the mayor. The prosecution wants to immediately seize the property. The Haarlem chapter of the HAMC is seen as the most important one in the Netherlands. The president, Lysander Rider, was sentenced to a prison sentence of thirty months in April for weapons and assault.

See ----->http://gangstersoutt.blogspot.ca/2016/06/hollands-hells-angel-leader-sent-to.html

Family alleges brother of Kelowna gang member tricked their dying mother

David Joseph Habib

They lived in the house most of their lives, their mother wanted them to have it, but now a dispute with their uncle and his ex-wife has forced them to move out. Jordell Andrea Hofmann and her brothers Andrew Anthony Lloyd Bloomfield and Dominic Dale Hofman are currently in a legal battle with their uncle, David Joseph Habib, and his ex-wife, Becky Dee Komant, over a property in East Kelowna.

Sally passed away after battling cancer in August 2015. Her children say that she held a one-third interest in the property when she passed, but David and Becky disagree. They say that in 2004, Sally was in financial trouble and entered into an oral agreement with her brother, David, that she would relinquish her share of the property in exchange for free rent at the house for the rest of her life. Damiano Dipopolo

In December 2014, when Sally was battling cancer, David had her sign a form, transferring her share of the house to Becky. He says this just formalized the verbal agreement they had made 10 years prior. The family alleges that David's brother, Dale Habib, is a gang member and threatened him when he refused to leave the home in November 2016. Dale Habib was charged in 2006 for the 2003 murder of Douglas Kuntz, but his charges were dropped later that year. Dale Habib has long been recognized as the president of the now disbanded HA 'puppet club' the 'Kingpin Crew'.

Akron dealers charged in deaths by Fentanyl

Vernell Lavon Curry, 28, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and drug trafficking in connection with the June 21, 2016 deaths of Sara White, 25, and Abigail Hackett, 22. The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office determined that both women died of acute fentanyl toxicity at Hackett's apartment. Heroin and fentanyl overdose deaths continued to claim lives at a stunning pace last year in Northeast Ohio. In Cuyahoga County alone, more than 500 people died after overdosing on heroin, fentanyl or a combination of the two.

Robinson pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge. She faces a likely prison sentence of between 10 and 12 1/2 years.

An Akron man and woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to a drug case federal prosecutors brought in the wake of a fentanyl overdose that killed a 37-year-old man. Leroy Steele, 37, and Sabrina Robinson, 36, were arrested after Thomas Rauh was found dead in his home. Both obtained fentanyl from a supplier in China and sold the drug in Akron. Steele pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The second charge includes a "death specification," which carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years.

Jean-David Cesar pulls 42 months for .357 magnum

19-year-old Jean-David Cesar appeared bored while the Judge delivered the sentence at the Montreal courthouse. Cesar is the brother of Donald Cesar, a 22-year-old man who was killed in Montreal North on September 3, 2015. Donald Cesar was the half-brother of Chenier (Big) Dupuy, a longtime street gang leader who was murdered in Anjou in 2012. Chenier Dupuy, the leader of the Bo-Gars, had nothing to do with the little criminals in the alleys. He was the apex of a major drug trafficking ring.

Chenier (Big) Dupuy

Police sources speculate Dupuy was killed because he refused to be part of a partnership that eventually merged the Montreal Mafia with the Hells Angels and several Montreal street gangs. Montreal police believe the Hells Angels were behind the murder, as well as that of Lamartine Severe Paul, cousin of Ducarme Joseph, who suffered the same fate as Dupuy in Laval the same day. "Paulo" was liquidated by a sniper as he arrived at his home.

Ducarme Joseph

El Chapo Extradited to the US, held in 'Guantanamo of New York'

Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has mesmerized the world for almost the last three decades, since taking charge of the Sinaloa cartel in the 1990s and growing it into the most violent, high profile and lucrative Mexican drug cartel in history. Two escapes from prison, photo ops with Mexican pop stars and actresses, and even a clandestine meeting with American actor Sean Penn made El Chapo a media darling and pop culture icon for global drug trafficking.

El Chapo arrived in the United States on January 19th and was arraigned on January 20th, his first appearance in a U.S. courtroom. He's been indicted for running a "continuing criminal enterprise" from January 1989 to December 2014. El Chapo’s organization is accused of trafficking illicit drugs throughout the U.S. and Canada, amassing more than $14 billion in profits. The infamous drug kingpin is being held in what some call the "Guantanamo of New York."

El Chapo is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. The infamous facility, which is known for once housing John Gotti and a slew of high-profile terrorists, is one that El Chapo will find difficult to break out of. New York attorney Joshua Dratel said that the facility "is worse than Guantanamo. It is about as soul-negating existence as there is in this country in the federal system.”

Toronto serial rapist to be released from prison amid warnings

Dubbed Canada’s 'worst serial rapist' Selva Kumar Subbiah is due to be released from prison this month and authorities won’t say whether he’ll be deported to his native Malaysia. Subbiah, 56, assaulted more than two dozen women in the Toronto area. A June 2016 parole hearing found that behind-bars therapy hasn’t done him any good whatever. That echoes comments in a string of previous parole hearings. “The case management team believes that you are likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person ..." Subbiah committed several of his crimes while posing as a model agent or movie talent scout. Occasionally, he also posed as a professional dancer, a lawyer and a diplomat. He also lured victims to the basement of his home through ads offering to sell exotic pets. He would offer victims a drink, which he would drug to knock them out. Once the women were in a state of unconsciousness, he raped them and took photos of their naked, limp bodies, court heard. One of his victims was as young as 14.

When Subbiah was arrested August 7, 1991 he was carrying a black book containing the names of 170 women, rated on a scale of 0 to 10. On Dec. 21, 1992, Subbiah was convicted of multiple sexual assaults. During the sentencing, Justice David Humphrey ordered police to escort Subbiah to his native Malaysia when he is released. “He has no feelings, no compassion. All we can do is warehouse him,” Crown counsel Paul Normandeau told the court. Kumar was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 1992 after he was found guilty of 19 counts of sexual assault, 28 counts of administering a drug or noxious substance, 10 counts of various kinds of assault and a dozen other charges, including extortion.

In 2003 Subbiah lost a lawsuit against Correctional Service Canada after claiming he was beaten up because fellow prisoners learned about his crimes. He was treated at hospital for bruises and superficial wounds. Reports from Malaysia suggest the country is expecting his return. Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said “We have our ways when it comes to people involved in such crimes”

Hard done by Bikers protest discrimination in PEI

A group of about 100 bikers took part in an Atlantic Confederation of Clubs (ACC) meeting to discuss discrimination against bikers. While members were entering the bar, a large police presence remained in the parking lot.

On the ACC’s website, the group states the history of motorcyclist rights organizations and their common goals of fighting government intrusion and harassment.

"The enemies of motorcycling will learn, if they haven't already, that the harder they fight us the closer and more united we become."

"The Confederations major focus is in the area of biker discrimination. In many areas businesses refuse to allow colours to be worn in their establishments. Likewise, as anyone who wears colours can tell you, the law enforcement authorities treat patch holders more severely in many cases."

Martin Briand pulls 10 years for cocaine distribution

37-year-old Canadian Martin Briand, who was caught with 59 kilos of cocaine, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Seattle. The U.S. Department of Justice said Briand was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute after the cocaine was seized in December 2009. Briand was on the run for six years before being arrested in December 2015 upon arriving at Vancouver Airport from France. He had been identified by Canadian and U.S. border agents as being extensively involved in smuggling cocaine into Canada.

“In just six months in 2009, this defendant made 29 flights in chartered aircraft between Point Roberts, Washington and points south without ever legally entering the U.S."

10 million lethal doses of carfentanil seized at Mirabel Airport

Vancouver firefighters work to revive a man who has already had two doses of Narcan after overdosing on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced Wednesday two packages seized at Montreal-Mirabel International Airport contained carfentanil. CBSA officers intercepted the packages coming from China on December 22, 2016.

After a laboratory analysis, the substance was confirmed to be 209 grams of carfentanil.

Both packages were from the same exporter and were destined for different residential addresses in the Montérégie region. Yesterday Alberta RCMP warned users of the dangers of street drugs after an investigation found heroin contaminated with carfentanil. The drugs were seized in October 2016. The toxic synthetic opioid has been directly linked to at least 15 deaths in Alberta in 2016. The true number of deaths is unknowable in Canada because a testing regime is only now being brought into use.