GANG WAR RAMPS UP INSTEAD OF DOWN

High-profile arrests early last week of a UN gang leader and two
associates were billed by police as a major blow to the crime group
that would help make the region's streets safer.

But instead of quelling the gangland violence, the Monday busts were
followed with a flurry of fresh shootings across Metro Vancouver,
killing three people and wounding six more within a 48-hour period.

Asked whether the arrests have created a leadership vacuum that's
destabilized the gang and spurred more violence, RCMP spokesman Cpl.
Peter Thiessen said it's difficult to speculate.

"That's a possibility, along with other possibilities," he said
Thursday.

"It hasn't been determined which (shootings) are related, which are
gang-related and which are not," he added.

Last week's killing included gang-style hits of an Abbotsford man in
Delta and another man in Vancouver - both bodies were discovered in
vehicles - and the shooting of a woman in a Burnaby condo tower that
appeared unrelated.

Thiessen said many of the incidents could boil down to coincidence,
rather than any link to the UN gang arrests.

The bottom line, he said, is "you've still got a lot of individuals
running around with guns settling their business."

Thiessen said police believe the removal of the trio linked to the UN
gang, including suspected acting-leader Barzan Tilli-Choli, will help.

"There has to be an increased level of safety to some degree by taking
these individuals off the street."

The three face charges of attempted murder in connection with a
shooting near a Surrey strip club Feb. 16.

Thiessen predicted the latest arrests on fraud charges of Jonathan
Bacon and associate Dennis Karbovanec should likewise make the streets
"a little bit safer."

However the two men, described as senior members of the Red Scorpions
and rivals of the UN Gang, were released on bail by Thursday afternoon.

Thiessen vowed the police crackdown on Lower Mainland gangs is
continuing and more arrests are coming.

The statements came after Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson on
Wednesday said more must be done to combat what so far appears to be a
"losing battle."

SFU criminology professor and gang expert Rob Gordon said it appears
the UN gang arrests may have shifted the balance of power and
contributed to the burst of new attacks.

"Ironically it's successful police action that is creating some of
this destabilization," he said.

Justice officials also point south to Mexico, where there have been
thousands of deaths in the past year as Mexican drug cartels battle to
control the flow of cocaine passing through.

The bloody feuds there, coupled with a crackdown by the Mexican police
and military, has led to reduced hard drug supplies in North America
and soaring prices.

Gordon said that's raised the stakes even higher in the local contest
for industry control here, where local gangs produce marijuana but
often trade it for north-bound cocaine and guns.

He said the riskier, more public activity by gangsters may amount to a
"golden opportunity" now for police to make major inroads into
organized crime.

But he does not expect the flow of blood in Metro Vancouver streets to
ease any time soon.

"Hold onto your hats," he said. "It's going to be more of the
same."

Shooting incidents last week

March 2 Delta

Man found shot dead in Delta near south end of Watershed Park off
Highway 10. Identified as Sukhwinder Dhaliwal, 32, of Abbotsford.

March 3 Burnaby

Shooting in 25th floor apartment at 2300 block Madison Ave. Woman
killed, man injured by gunshot fire. Police say too early to tell if
gang/drug related.

March 3 Surrey 8 p.m.

13000 block of 68 Avenue, same area previously targeted Feb. 27.
22-year-old man known to police in critical condition in hospital
after gunshot wound to hip.

March 3 Surrey midnight

Shots fired into known crack shack at 154 Street and 110 Avenue. No
injuries.

March 3 Vancouver 9:50 p.m.

Man found shot dead slumped over steering wheel of a vehicle, near 3rd
and Kaslo St. Described as gang-style hit on convicted drug dealer.

March 4 South Surrey 3 a.m.

Purportedly 32 Avenue at 180 Street. 22-year-old South Asian man
arrives in Peace Arch Hospital with gunshot wound to leg.

March 4 in Surrey 7 p.m.

Two men shot and wounded at Chevron gas station near 72 Avenue and 122
Street.

March 5 in Vancouver 2 a.m.

Shots fired into home near Rupert St. and East 22nd St. wounding man
inside.