Seven people - including a Richmond resident - allegedly associated with the Red Scorpions and Independent Soldiers criminal gangs are facing kidnapping and unlawful confinement charges after a 29year-old man was abducted Oct. 20 from a downtown Vancouver restaurant.
Vancouver police Insp. Brad Desmarais said police received information about the abduction, believed to be "financially motivated," shortly after it occurred.
"Within the first few hours, investigators identified a location in Richmond which was believed to be associated with the kidnapping and placed it under surveillance," said Desmarais. Richmond RCMP was notified and both forces cooperated in the operation, which involved a total of 41 officers. It was the largest deployment of VPD's kidnapping protocol in years, said Desmarais.
Surveillance was established on a business on No. 5 Road and on Oct. 21 officers saw "what they believed to be suspicious activity related to the kidnapping," he said.
"Not long after, officers watched as a blindfolded male was led from the business and bundled into a car. The car shortly departed in company with a second vehicle, an SUV.
"Teams were developing a hostage recovery plan when the car containing the man suddenly pulled over on Highway 91 in Richmond and the victim was pushed from the car. Members of the VPD and RCMP reacted quickly, rescuing the man from the roadway," he said.
"Meanwhile, VPD surveillance units covered by ERT [emergency response team] executed a dynamic takedown of both vehicles. Five people were arrested. The victim suffered injuries in the fall from the car," said Desmarais.
Police later obtained arrest warrants for two other people believed to be involved in the kidnapping and both turned themselves in within the last two days, he said.
"We believe this group was working in concert with a larger organized crime group based in Eastern Canada," said Desmarais.
A number of the suspects have documented links to the Red Scorpions and Independent Soldiers gangs, he said.
Desmarais didn't name the victim and said he was not known to police when the investigation began. He also didn't say if a ransom had been paid. As for the unexpected release of the victim by tossing him from a vehicle, Desmarais said that wasn't the result of the suspects being spooked by the surveillance teams.
He said the gang wasn't aware of the police shadowing them.
Police seized hundreds of exhibits following the arrests including body armour, two Glock handguns, ammunition, two Tasers - one disguised as a cellular phone - knives and ropes.
They also seized a "spy kit" to detect bugging devices in a residence or on phone lines that could be used as a countersurveillance measure against police.
Charged with kidnapping and unlawful confinement are: Nazfar Mirhadi, 28, of North Vancouver; Demple Brar, 42, Richmond; Thomas Crawford, 30, Kamloops; Robert Carr, 28, Abbotsford; Edmond Gammel, 24, Surrey; David Tarrant, 28, Kamloops; Veronica Moncur, 20, Kamloops. Additional charges are expected to be laid.
