The death on Sunday, January 15, of a naturalized Canadian
citizen of Iraqi origin, Salid Abdulaziz Sahbaz, reveals the extent to which links
between organized crime networks in Canada and Mexico have been destabilized by
aggressive police work.
Police sources in British Columbia, Canada, confirmed that Salih
Abdulaziz Sahbaz, in his mid thirties, was the key cartel contact for the
notorious United Nations Gang, also known as Global United Nations Syndicate
(GUNS), which operates out of the city of Vancouver and the surrounding area.
Sahbaz, who had spent much of the past three years in
Mexico, was found
dead on the street in the Country Alamo area of Culiacan, Sinaloa, around
midnight Sunday. He had been shot execution-style by what appeared to be a .45
caliber firearm – police recovered at least 8 empty .45 caliber shells at the
scene.
Given that Canadian identification and money were found on
the body, robbery was not thought to be the motive. Gerardo Vargas Landeros, a Sinaloa state
government official, said Sahbaz had both a current and expired Canadian
passport on his body when it was found early Monday.
Vargas Landeros also said that there was evidence of
Sahbaz’s participation in illegal activities, but did not specify. This is a
likely scenario given the victim’s background, the style of killing, the lack
of robbery as a motive, and the location of the crime – in a dangerous city far
from any tourist areas.
Sahbaz was was shot in a highly exposed area - no guarantee of safety in Culiacan
Police in British Columbia have referred to Sahbaz as a
“high-ranking member” of the United Nations Gang who was in direct contact with
Mexican cartels. It is believed that he was working off debt after the loss of
a cocaine shipment.
However, he may have also been cut loose by the UN Gang, and
attempting to re-establish himself in Mexico.
Sahbaz had been a UN Gang member since at least 2004, when he had been
brought in to the organization by the then-leader, Clayton Roueche.
Sahbaz was also known to head the “Kurdish Crew”, a
semi-autonomous gang that controlled the drug trade in Vancouver’s Downtown
Eastside. His time with the UN Gang was not always smooth – he had been kicked
out at least once, and may have lost the protection of his benefactor, Mr.
Roueche, who is now in jail.
The UN Gang is in a tough position. Aggressive and
well-coordinated police work in Canada and the United States has fragmented the
organization; internal conflicts have decimated the ranks; and attempts to
expand abroad have met with repeated failure.
Some examples: in late 2009 UN Gang member Adam
Kataoka was killed in Argentina (he, too, apparently “lost” a shipment of
cocaine); and last November UN Gang soldier Axel Curtis was shot
to death in Vancouver.
As well, U.S. authorities have put at least a dozen UN Gang
drug mules and associates behind bars. The pressure continues: UN Gang members Conor
D’Monte and Cory Vallee face murder charges, but have fled justice, and are now
on Interpol’s
most wanted list.
The UN Gang, known for the multi-ethnic backgrounds of its
members, recruited a number of Iraqis other than Sahbaz when Clayton Roueche was
in charge. The former operational head of the UN gang, for example, was Barzan
Tilli-Choli, an Iraqi immigrant accused
of conspiracy to commit murder. Tilli-Choli is now awaiting trial in Canada
along with five other UN members.
The Gang has recently forged links with the Hells Angels, as
was indicated by sentencing in absentia of
Omid
Bayani on December 28, 2011, as the result of an investigation into the
notorious biker gang. As well, when Duane Harvey Meyer – a former Hells Angels
prospect and UN member – was
shot to death on May 8, 2009, members of both gangs attended the funeral.
Canadian organized
crime activity in Mexico
The UN Gang has been active in Mexico, in one form or
another, for the past four years – if not longer.
The alleged leader of the UN Gang, Clayton Roueche, was
arrested on May 19, 2008, during a stop-over in Texas from a flight originating
in Mexico City. He was then charged with conspiring to possess cocaine,
conspiring to export cocaine, conspiring to import marijuana, and conspiring to
launder money. As a result he was sentenced
to 30 years in prison.
Two months after the arrest of Clayton Roueche on his flight
from Mexico City, two UN gang members were shot to death as they ate lunch in
the Santa Teresita neighbourhood of Gaudalajara, Mexico. Dead were Elliott
Abben Castaneda, age 29, of Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Ahmet
"Lou" Kaawach.
Mr. Kaawach had immigrated to Canada from Lebanon, but had
been extradited back to his home country after Canadian authorities determined
his links to organized crime. Mr. Abben Castaneda, nicknamed "Taco",
was an immigrant to Canada from Guatemala who grew up in Abbotsford, British
Columbia, where the UN Gang originated.
After the deaths of Abben Castaneda and Kaawach it is
believed that Sahbaz took over the Mexican end of the business, which was a
crucial component to the Gang’s business model. Law enforcement officials
believe that the Gang exports Canadian marijuana from British Columbia to the
American northwest, and uses these profits to purchase Mexican cocaine and
import it back to the United States and Canada.
The cash is then laundered into real-estate in British Columbia’s lower
mainland, with land-titles often held in the names of family members.
However, it is clear
from the deaths of Sahbaz, Abben Castaneda, and Kaawach – all in Mexico – that
criminal organizations in Canada simply don’t have the reach to protect their
people south of the Rio Grande. This is true even for the organization that
some allege is Canada’s biggest player in the drug trade – the Hells Angels.
Elliott Abben
Castaneda - a forced smile concealing a dangerous life
The Hells Angels
connection
After the UN Gang’s earlier failure in Mexico, it looks like
some small-time Hells Angels operatives also met with foul play.
Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans were found shot to death in
Puerto Vallarta, on Sept. 27, 2009.
According to the Toronto Star, British Columbia RCMP
confirmed that the two Canadians had been known to police for "quite some
time" as being active in the drug trade.
"Both the organized crime team and the gang task force
have been aware of these two males for a while," said Sgt. Bill Whalen
with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said at the time.
"We've been aware that these two males have been involved with the drug
trade for a while. We've been aware of ... some of their activities recently in
Mexico."
According to a friend, Ivans moved to Mexico to do
excavation and construction work for the Hells Angels. Most likely, both men
were acting as lower level contacts with the cartels.
Having small-time soldiers act as contacts in Mexico reduces
the risk for senior Hells Angels – either from the police, who watch them like
a hawk, or from being bumped off by a Mexican gang. Better to stay in Canada
and run the business, and let the journeymen take the risk.
Kendall and Ivans - in over their heads?
At the time, the Hells Angels in Canada claimed that Kendall
and Ivans were not members. Friends, however, said that they were extremely
agitated and nervous before making the move. Members or not, the two Canadians
were certainly in over their heads.
Twitter: @TimothyEWilson
Email: lapoliticaeslapolitica [at] gmail [dot] com
No comments:
Post a Comment