GANGS QUIETLY THRIVE IN NANAIMO

Police See A Steady Increase In Activity Of Organized Criminals

Residents of Nanaimo may not be seeing organized crime gangs shooting
it out in the streets, but that's cold comfort for police, who know
how that various groups with access to firearms thrive in the city.

Organized crime is a national priority for the RCMP, and Cpl. Kirby
Anderson, head of the Nanaimo RCMP criminal intelligence probe team,
said that in addition to known outlaw motorcycle gangs and Asian gang
activity, they are now seeing a number of very active independent
crime groups in Nanaimo moving large amounts of drugs between here and the U.S.

"A lot of these independents are guys who've flown under the radar
for years," said Anderson.

But he said the independent groups do from time to time work with
established crime groups, such as the Hells Angels. Such groups, said
Anderson, have contacts and resources that independent crime
operators may not have to set up and make international drug deals happen.

The Hells Angels have been in Nanaimo since 1985 (there are seven
recognized chapters in B.C.), and though they have successfully kept
details of their criminal activities under the radar enough to keep
them out of court, their presence now has authorities reacting. Last
week the province seized the Victoria Road clubhouse. That came
almost four years after police raided the building in search of
evidence around a drug investigation.

A patched member of the Nanaimo Hells Angels, Lea Sheppe, and an
associate, Robbie Lajeunesse, were later charged with trafficking
large amounts of cocaine between B.C. and Ontario. A patched Hells
Angel member in Ontario and associate were also charged there.

The Department of Justice did not return a call to the Daily News
seeking information about the status of the charges.

The last time the Nanaimo Hells Angels had that much attention was
when Edward "Zeke" Mickle disappeared in 1993. The fate of Mickle
remains undetermined and he remains a missing person for the Nanaimo RCMP.

While organized crime groups have traditionally swapped B.C.
marijuana in the U.S. for cocaine to bring back to Canada, Anderson
said criminals are now also bringing in large amounts of cyrstal meth
and firearms.

That movement of guns, said Anderson, makes a bad situation worse.
"That's a real concern we have here," he said.

On the Island, guns may have always been available among organized
crime groups, but their increased spread cause police concern that
they may mix with the traditional tactics of intimidation and fear to
cause incidents that will lead to higher risks for the public and police.

"I think there's more of a fear of potential violence," said Anderson.

But there are no gang wars simmering on the Island similar to those
that led to recent Lower Mainland shootings. One retired Mountie,
speaking anonymously, said that from the time he started his career
to today the organized crime problem has grown exponentially. His
theory is that a lax court system, where the process of inquiring
into the truth has become no more than a forum to argue about rights,
has only enabled those inclined to crime to go to greater heights.

"The lawyers and the courts have bogged down the system," he said.

The Appeal Court for B.C., he said, has set a tone in which
sentencing is failing as a meaningful deterrent. And he thinks that
the same system has hamstrung police.

"Every time you turn around they're taking away another avenue of
investigation," he said.

The former cop said it all adds up to the increase in organized crime
groups at least as ruthless and violent as bikers, the Mafia or Asian
gangs. Lesser penalties mean potential for more filthy lucre.

"With the money and the risks to get it, it's worth taking the chance
of being popped off," he said.

The increase in gangs even in the last few years, he said, is pretty shocking.

"At one stage all you saw were the bikers and in the early '90s we
had the Asian gangs, now you have street level gangs and independents
popping up everywhere."

While there is no evidence of any impending gang violence here,
police know that it can erupt quickly and without warning if one
group thinks their turf is threatened by another.

Any such action, said the former officer, is a danger to the
community. He warns that if left unchecked organized crime will bring
to the Island the same type of violence seen recently in Vancouver.

"We may not have the same proportion of gang violence, but as we grow
so does it. The problem is there's only so much territory, so it's
inevitable they're going to clash."

Both he and Anderson said an unseen and serious threat is an economic one.

"I said this a long time ago, and people laughed, but if a legitimate
business tries to compete with a business funded by organized crime
they'll go out of business," said the retired officer.

Money laundering, or just subsidizing a business with illegal cash,
translates into artificially lower costs for businesses affiliated
with organized crime.

Said Anderson: "There are false economies that are set up as a result of that."

As an example he cited drug dealers paying any price for a house to
use for a pot grow operation. Such sales can skew the price of homes
in a certain market.