COPS WARN LOW-LEVEL DRUG DEALERS

Police Say They Could Become Caught In Gang-Warfare Crossfire

Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich warned yesterday that even
high-school kids involved at the lowest levels of drug dealing may be
targets of gang violence.

The warning comes in the wake of four killings of young men in
Abbotsford over the past two months, including two high-school
students. Police believe all four men were targeted for their
perceived associations to the notorious Bacon brothers and their Red
Scorpion gang.

Homicide investigators are operating on the theory that rival gangs,
including the UN Gang, have been unsuccessful in taking out the
"high-level members of the Bacon organization" and are now "targeting
people at any level."

"So this is my warning to all young people engaged in the sale of
drugs at any level," said Rich. "You are at risk. You may be
targeted. You need to get out -- and you need to get out now."

He urged youth to get out of drug dealing by calling a newly
established help line operated by Abbotsford police: 604-864-4787.

The information will be kept confidential and will not be used for
criminal investigations, Rich added.

Rich said the four young men killed over the last six weeks were
involved in low-level drug dealing.

The victims were Sean Murphy, 21, Ryan Richards, 19, Joseph Randay,
18, and Dilsher Singh Gill, 17.

Rich said in the case of Randay and Gill, links to the Bacons were
distant and tenuous at best.

"That their association to the Bacons for two of them may have been
little more than talk on the street, you can see this fact did not
matter," said Rich.

The popular Grade 12 students at W.J. Mouat Secondary were found dead
in a parked car by city maintenance workers May 1 on Sumas Mountain.

Yesterday, Randay's parents took issue with the police claim that
their son Joseph was involved in drug dealing. They said that police
have not told them about the allegation or provided them with any
proof. "This is all coming as a surprise," said father Amarjit.

Rather, Amarjit and Parminder Randay remember their son as a keen
learner with ambitions of becoming a civil engineer. Just weeks away
from graduation, Joseph was accepted to the University of B.C. this fall.

"He was popular from Grade 1 . . . and always on honour roll," said the mother.

The Randays say Joseph was not involved in crime, never stayed out
late and was with Dilsher most of the time.

Much of the violence in Abbotsford has been the result of rivalry
between the UN Gang and the Scorpions. But Rich emphasized that youth
involved in any drug dealing are at risk, regardless of whether
they're associated with a specific gang or not.

"Any young person -- because of the potential for retaliation,
because of the confusion that exists of who's associated with who --
is at risk if they're involved in the drug trade," said Rich.

As for how police will help youth "get out," Rich said the solution
will largely depend on how deeply they're involved.

"For some kids, we might be working with the family to suggest they
go live with their uncle in Winnipeg, because that's what it'll take.
For other kids, it's maybe a simple change or two and they'll be fine," he said.