BLOODTHIRSTY THUGS FROM OUT OF TOWN REPLACE NATIVE GANGS, MORE DEATHS
PREDICTED AS THEY FIGHT OVER DRUG AND SEX TRADE

The thugs who controlled the drug trade on Edmonton's streets are
being replaced by more ruthless, cruel and bloodthirsty gangsters.

"The violence is going to get more egregious than we've ever seen,"
warned a man close to the trade. "Pretty soon they're going to start
shooting each other in broad daylight on street corners. They don't
care who's watching - or who's in the way. It's going to be just like
when that girl was shot in Toronto."

He was referring to 15-year-old Jane Creba, who was killed in the
crossfire of a gang shootout while shopping on Boxing Day, 2005.

"There's a lot of violence the public's not hearing about, too," said
the man. "A lot of people have been beaten, some almost to death."

Edmonton's once-fearsome native gangs - notably Redd Alert, Alberta
Warriors and Indian Posse - are no longer major players, said the
man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"They're the little guys now," he said. "They're working for the
other guys. They're getting pushed further and further down the food chain."

The newcomers are aggressively taking over the street sex trade, too.

Jack Kraus, who works with the prostitution outreach program Project
SNUG, said that in recent weeks at least seven prostitutes on the 107
Avenue stroll have reported men with African accents coming up to
them and saying, "you're working for me now."

"These women were being pimped out by their so-called boyfriends and
suddenly they're told they're working for some other guy. No
argument, no debate," said Kraus.

The highest profile newcomers, according to the man, are Somali
gangsters from Toronto.

But others are also flowing into the city, as well as local groups
fighting to keep them out and tighten their own grip on the drug trade.

Among the gangs gaining a foothold in Edmonton are the
Vancouver-based Independent Soldiers, who reportedly have ties to the
Hells Angels, and the U.N. Gang. Both groups are bitter rivals and
have reputations for savage, remorseless violence.

All of these groups, the man said, "are big players with a lot of
money behind them."

Another major player is Fresh Off the Boat, a local group founded by
the children of southeast Asian immigrants.

Blood has been flowing for months in Edmonton.

This week two men linked to the drug trade were gunned down in broad
daylight within an hour of each other.

On Tuesday night Cody Lee Johnson, 29 was shot in his Escalade, which
then rolled into a house in the west end. Just 45 minutes later
Alberto Vasquez, 24, was blown away in the MacEwan neighbourhood on
the southside. Police say the two men knew each other.

At least four young Somali men, several of whom police say have ties
to the drug trade in Toronto, have been shot to death in Edmonton.

The body of one of them, Abdul Kadir Mohamoud, 24, was found in Grand
Trunk Park on the north side on Dec. 2. His killers had left him with
his pants pulled down.

"That's a big insult," said the man. "Whoever did that was sending a
message to Toronto."

The head of the Edmonton police gang unit agreed.

"Yes, they're trying to send a message, without a doubt," said Staff
Sgt. Kevin Galvin.

Most gang violence, he said is "structured, strategic and tactical.
In other words, it's done for a purpose."

Some of it, he said, is called "reputation violence," committed to
instill fear in others.

But he, added some of the bloodshed is also "disciplinary," people
paying the price for not being able to repay their debts because of
the declining economy.

Galvin said while police are always worried about bystanders getting
hurt when gang violence escalates, law-abiding citizens who have no
contact with criminals face little or no risk.