Crypto investors being targeted in greater Vancouver

Cops have issued a public warning that "high-value" cryptocurrency investors are being targeted in home invasions. Multiple robberies of crypto investors in Richmond and Delta over the past year suggest the hand of organized criminals. Crooks gained access to the victim's home by posing as a delivery person or an authority figure. In some cases a B&E follows as the suspects target personal information that allows them to access the victims' cryptocurrency accounts. Cops are warning those involved in crypto to stay aware to avoid being the next.

Rongxiang “Tiger” Yuan - revisited

Rongxiang 'Tiger' Yuan, 58, has ties to the Chinese military and is considered by many a war hero in China.

Rongxiang 'Tiger' Yuan hit the news in March. It was revealed then that in the space of two days in 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s riding association received almost $63k from Lower Mainland donors. Of the 41 donations, 3 came from directors of the Tiger Arms Ltd. Port Coquitlam gun store, including its namesake Rongxiang “Tiger” Yuan. Ke Xiao of Richmond and Peiran Yang of Vancouver donated. Another $1,500 donation came from Avery H. Chow of Richmond, who replaced Yuan, Xiao and Yang on the Tiger Arms company registration in March 2020.

Yuan reportedly made his fortune as an aluminum exporter. He doesn't live at the compound but entertains fellow Chinese there.

The most valuable property in Chilliwack is at 6500 Chadsey Road. A 16,543 sq/ft home with 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms is valued at $4.5m. Along with an adjacent property, the 11-acre compound is surrounded by two layers of 15 foot cedar hedging, between which is a chain link fence, above which are 32 security cameras.

Rongxiang Tiger Yuan was said to be one of the whale gamblers connected to massive cash deliveries at Richmond’s River Rock Casino and industrial scale money laundering at Silver International.

Yongtao Chen stepped onto the podium at a Vancouver hotel ballroom in 2018 and wildly waved a red Chinese flag. He had just accepted the role as chairman of the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations (CACA). The alliance is a pro-Beijing umbrella group that says it represents Chinese community associations across Canada and works with the Chinese state. One of the men in the room was Yongtao Chen’s partner, Toronto real estate tycoon Wei Wei. Three years later Wei walked on multiple criminal charges in relation to his marble-floored 53-room mansion in Markham. Cops described an operation with $20k per hand betting limits and a high-end restaurant with a maitre ‘d serving families with children in a landscaped courtyard. Cops believed that gambling and sex trafficking occurred in all 53 mansion rooms.

Wei Wei

Key players involved in the Markham network met with Paul King Jin, a notorious alleged loan shark and illegal casino operator who escaped death in a Sept 18, 2020 shooting. The botched hit left Jin’s associate Jian Jun Zhu dead.
See ----->'high end illegal casino' - Dirty Cops torpedo bust
See ----->Money launderer Paul King Jin and wife Xiaoqui Wei

Nicola Spagnolo - "un vieux crisse de riche" - 3 years

Mafia heavyweight Nicola Spagnolo, 49, has been sentenced to 3 years in jail after being found guilty of aggravated assault in December 2022. The bar stabbing has nothing to do with organized crime. Spagnolo was drunk. He describes himself as a seller of used luxury cars. The crown said the attack was “vicious, underhanded and cowardly” and the sentence should be 4 years.

Spagnolo’s connect to the Montreal mafia executive has nothing to do with his convicton.

Spagnolo on his way to Boho Bar.

Nicola Spagnolo was found guilty of aggravated assault in a stabbing outside a bar in Old Montreal. Video from the bar sunk him. He faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The victim testified he didn't know Spagnolo before they began arguing after leaving the Boho bar. He said they were both drunk. The victim described his assailant as "un vieux crisse de riche" (rich old man)

Mafia brunch at Holts Cafe.

Accused of attempting to kill a man at a bar in Old Montreal, Mafioso Nicola Spagnolo was released on conditions. Spagnolo was charged with aggravated assault, an attempted murder charge was dropped. Spagnolo is the son of Vincenzo Spagnolo, assassinated at his Laval residence in October 2016. Spagnolo’s father was killed by mistake, it was supposed to target his son. The elder Spagnolo was a close friend to Vito Rizzuto, leader of the Montreal Mafia. Cops had considered Spagnolo to be a member of the Montreal mafia's executive, sitting alongside Leonardo Rizzuto and Stefano Sollecito.

Sacha Nelson César whacked in Laval - update II

It has been revealed by major league hitman Frédérick Silva that he communicated with Sacha Nelson 'Kash' César in November 2020, to give him the contract to murder Frantz Louis for $100k. Frantz Louis was gunned down inside his car November 19, 2020. Sacha César-Nelson was whacked weeks later in December 2020. César was close to the departed Arsène Mompoint, a Reds gang leader. There are no arrests in the execution. Many have been waiting for rat hitman Frédérick Silva to spill his many beans.

Sacha Nelson César had a heroin trafficking route in downtown Montreal. He was executed by several shots to the head. The murder of César is linked to the assassination of Frantz Louis, committed in the Villeray district.

High profile mafioso Davide Barberio is a 41-year-old Rivière-des-Prairies resident charged in Project Clemenza. In 2017, Barberio and others saw a stay of proceedings because RCMP refused to disclose how they intercepted their text messages. Frantz Louis and Barberio were closely linked. A mafia loansharking and extortion bust in 2014 led to Louis. Frantz Louis’s slaying was the 24th homicide in Montreal this year. César's was the 25th.

See ----->LA Presse - Montreal Mafia: Flourishing in 'free trade'

Outlaws and Loners MC in conflict - update

Shortly before the latest, Loners MC biker Eric St. Louis, 34, of Ottawa, and Jessica Rose, 31 were busted for possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.

Cops landed two Loners cuts, Loners MC jewelry, a vehicle, cocaine and $11k in cash.

On July 8, 2023 the clubs tangled with a shooting and assaults with knives. On July 10th the Outlaws clubhouse in Brockville was burned to the ground. The Loners MC came to Peterborough in 2012 with a clubhouse on Park Street which later burned down. The group was embroiled in a turf war with the Vagos MC. That conflict ended with the patch over of the Vagos Peterborough chapter to the Outlaws in 2014. Experts say the Loners MC remains active without a formal clubhouse.

Brockville cops now say the 2 a.m. fire was arson.

B.C. HAMC make splash in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk

A pair of road worn HA don't appear to be setting up a new chapter in Canada's far north. Cops went out of their way to spell things out for concerned residents as the bikers rolled through Inuvik. “The Inuvik RCMP were aware of the presence of these individuals. The Hells Angels are an international criminal organization that is linked to murder, widespread drug trafficking, human trafficking and other serious criminality in Canada. We, as the police, do not welcome their presence in our communities.”

Kaleb James Moir in the chit again

Kaleb James Moir, of Pocatello, Idaho has been charged with felony aggravated battery after a Pocatello police officer witnessed the assault. The cop saw Moir, who was listed in the police report as being 6 foot, 4 inches tall and weighing 275 pounds, standing over the other man, who is described as being 5 foot, 7 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds. “Moir had a hand on (the victim’s) throat and was slamming the back of his head on the floor and was punching him in the face multiple times,” cops wrote. A video provided audio of the altercation, in which Moir can be heard yelling profanities and threatening the victim for having Hells Angels stickers on his motorcycle. Prosecutors will attempt to prove there is enough evidence against Moir to elevate the case. If convicted of a felony aggravated battery charge, Moir faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

Moir was busted in January for attacking a woman. The victim said Kaleb Moir hit and choked her multiple times over the course of two days after he was kicked out of a motorcycle club. In 2021 Kaleb James Moir challenged a man to fight him outside of Karen’s Bar, severely cutting the man’s face and injuring his nose. Moir was carrying a semi-automatic handgun at the time.

President of Rebels MC Dixon busted in Bendigo

Victoria police say a Rebels MC chapter president, sergeant at arms and patched member attacked the victim outside his North Bendigo home. They assaulted the man after he had waved at a speeding motorbike on his street to slow down. The victim was left with serious facial injuries. The bikies face up to 10 years in jail.

Dixon was out on bail.

The acting State president of the Rebels bikie gang is Jason Anthony Dixon, 49. He is facing a long list of gun and drugs charges after a major takedown by the gang crime squad in 2022.

Storm Shadow missile strike kills Russian Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov

Senior Russian general Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov was killed in the port city of Berdyansk. Both sides confirm a UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile strike, 100 miles from the front. Tsokov, the deputy commander of Russia's Southern Military District, would be the highest-ranking Russian officer to be killed in the conflict.

Russian Major General Sergei Goryachev was killed in a strike on a command post in southern Ukraine in June. Goryachev is the fifth major general be killed in Russia’s invasion and first of 2023. On May 11 the UK confirmed the transfer of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine. The Storm Shadow warhead features an initial penetrating charge, then a variable delay fuse to control detonation of the warhead. Intended targets are high value, strategic targets. The missile is fire and forget, programmed before launch.

Storm Shadow missiles are capable of striking targets with great precision at much longer ranges than had previously been possible for Ukraine.

The cruise missiles are launched from specially modified Su-24 strike aircraft and fly under the cover of MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters. They have a range of over 400 km and deliver a 300 kg (660 lb) HE multipurpose warhead. Unit cost is $3.19m.

Charles DeBono free 1 year after $56m steal

A year after being sentenced for orchestrating one of Canada’s largest Ponzi schemes, Charles DeBono is free on day parole. When arrested in his bolthole in the Dominican Republic in 2020, the fugitive was so distraught that he said “they would have to kill” him before he’d go back to Canada. He even tried to wrap one of his shoelaces around his neck to convince folks he was serious. DeBono, 64, was the architect of Debit Direct, an 'investment opportunity' that supposedly provided debit terminals to small businesses. 515 people were duped out of $56 million by a shameless conman in a classic Ponzi scheme. After a four year investigation and prosecution, DeBono was sentenced to seven years, which was cut to just over four years after credit for pre-sentence custody. DeBono was also ordered to pay nearly $29 million in restitution to victims. Cops found $1.5m.

Iran's ‘Bitumen Mafia’

Iran is among the world’s top producers of bitumen, a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons usually obtained as a residue from petroleum distillation. It is typically used in applications such as road surfacing, roofing and certain types of paint. Most Irainian national production is distributed free of charge to state-owned entities and affiliates of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. 65% of this, or 2.5 million tons, ends up being exported illicitly. With a bitumen price of $410 per ton, this is equivalent to over $1 billion per year. None of this returns to ordinary Iranian citizens.