Friday, November 17, 2023

Lawrence Orubor - Calgary drug boss buys 10 years

Lawrence Chukwka Orubor, 55, leader of 'The Family' has been sentenced to 10 years. Orubor's criminal record dates back more than 30 years, with over 40 convictions. He goes away again after Operation Bloodline, a 6 month cop probe into The Family. The charges are rare: instructing drug trafficking and violent offences for a criminal organization. The Family was responsible for the "vast majority of violence in the downtown core" according to cops. Search warrants on two vehicles and four homes lead to meth, fentanyl, crack and GHB. Orubor's bust had an instant effect. The Family's drug set-up outside Calgary's injection site disappeared.
The Family operated under cop radar for years, selling drugs to the addicted and homeless. The 'down and out' are perfect for exploitation and they don't go to the cops. Violence, including a murder, motivated Calgary cops to tackle The Family. Orubor prefered underlings willing to "work just for the dope" and were expendible. Debt collection came from addicts willing to resort to violence.