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History And The Membership Of Red Scorpions, United Nations

With violence sweeping the Lower Mainland and eight people gunned
down in 19 gangland shootings since Jan. 20, The Province sketches
the backgrounds of the two groups believed to be responsible for most
of the bloodshed:

RED SCORPIONS

- - History: The Red Scorpions -- a violent, drug-trafficking criminal
organization -- formed after the bludgeoning death of a 16-year-old
less than a decade ago.

It was 2000, and Quang Vinh "Michael" Le had just been beaten by a
group of Korean youths. Angry and wanting to retaliate, Le gathered
more than 20 friends to attack Richard Jung as he headed to a
washroom in a Coquitlam karaoke club.

Included in the brutal beating was 14-year-old Eddie Narong -- one of
six men later executed at a Whalley highrise in 2007. The Red
Scorpions have been implicated as suspects in the murders.

Both Narong and Le eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Le and some of those convicted went on to form the Red Scorpions
while incarcerated in Willingdon's youth detention facility. Since
then the group has continued to grow, with members of other gangs
joining their ranks -- including the Bacon brothers, who originally
were aligned with the UN gang.

In 2006, Le and several other Scorpions were arrested through the
RCMP's Project E-Poison, which targeted a large crack-cocaine,
"dial-a-dope" operation in Metro Vancouver. After 10 in the ring
pleaded guilty, police believed the Scorpions were disbanded.

In early 2008, the Integrated Gang Task Force said that the Red
Scorpions were still active and one of the largest gangs in the Lower
Mainland -- and they were branching out.

In July, police in Victoria launched Project Mongoose two days after
University of Victoria student Philbert Truong, 20, was gunned down
outside a nightclub.

By August they had dismantled a "dial-a-dope" operation in Saanich
and arrested six people.

Police said the Red Scorpions were aggressively recruiting members by
distributing free crack with a phone number that was staffed 24 hours a day.

- - Membership: The Red Scorpions are a multi-ethnic group originally
based out of Coquitlam and Lower Mainland suburbs, but now has
tentacles reaching throughout the Lower Mainland.

Its members are mostly young men from varying backgrounds, but it
also employs young women. The women included Ashley Marie Apolinario,
who was among six charged for trafficking in a dial-a-dope operation
in Victoria last year.

Membership is fluid, with members joining and leaving for other
splinter gang groups.

The Red Scorpions mimic the Hells Angels' structure and hierarchy as
well as their use of imagery, with gang members sporting Red Scorpion
tattoos. Many members have a "RS" tattoo on their wrists, neck or shoulders.

UNITED NATIONS

- - History: The UN Gang was formed in Abbotsford in the late 1990s by
a group of high-school friends from around the Fraser Valley.

What began as a loose-knit group of Abbotsford thugs linked to Asian
organized crime quickly grew over the years.

Today, the UN is a structured organization that imports and
distributes B.C. bud and cocaine. They also dabble in weapons
trafficking, marijuana grow-ops, cross-border trafficking, extortion,
kidnappings and dealing heroin and crystal meth.

Known for being violent and solving their problems with gunplay, the
gang has made enemies with the Independent Soldiers and the Hells
Angels in the past, including an infamous bar fight in 2000 at the
Animals nightclub in Abbotsford.

The fight gave the group more street cred and quickly threw them on
the police radar.

They now collaborate with outlaw motorcycle, Indo-canadian and
independent gangs.

- - Membership: The UN Gang moniker is a nod to its multicultural
makeup because of its members' diverse ethnic backgrounds, including
Iranians, Indo-Canadians, Caucasians and Asians.

Its stronghold is traditionally in Chilliwack and Abbotsford, but it
has also branched out to other communities in B.C., and as far as Montreal.

Police have estimated there are 50 to 100 core members in B.C., plus
hundreds of associates.

Members can belong to more than one gang -- for example, Omid Bayani,
who was arrested in an Ontario undercover operation targeting Hells Angels.

Not unlike the Hells Angels, UN gang members are also known to sport
their group's insignia. Members have been spotted and photographed
wearing identical clothing, and can often be found wearing
diamond-encrusted UN jewelry.

The dedication to their brotherhood continues beyond the grave.
Member Evan Appell's tombstone has "UN" etched into it along with the
group motto: "Loyalty-Honour-Respect."