NO EVIDENCE KAMLOOPS A CENTRE FOR DRUG KINGPINS

There is no indication Kamloops is a centre for high-level drug
trafficking, according to one law-enforcement officer who specializes
in organized crime.

Sgt. Bill Whelan, spokesman for the Combined Forces Special
Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), which investigates organized crime in B.C.,
told KTW the two Kamloops men recently gunned down in Mexico were not
active within the city's drug trade in the last while.

"The key word is they were from Kamloops," Whelan said.

"You would guess they were successful enough in the drug trade to
move to a bigger location and out of Kamloops because of that."

Former Kamloops residents Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffery Ronald
Ivans were slain in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Sept. 27 in what
Mexican authorities are calling "execution-style" murders. The two
were shot outside of their condominium just after midnight.

The men attended Kamloops senior secondary.

Whelan also repeated that Ivans and Kendall were known to police and
on CFSEU's radar.

"Although not completely confirmed, it was fairly obvious to us they
were down there [Mexico] involved in the drug trade," he said.

Since their deaths, there has been plenty of rumours the pair may
have been involved in organized crime.

KTW spoke to a source who claimed Ivans and Kendall and a third
Kamloops man were involved with the notorious UN Gang, which is based
in the Lower Mainland, but had two members killed in Mexico last year.

Whelan said he has heard the speculation, but cannot confirm if the
two were connected to any organized crime groups.

However, he did suggest low-or mid-level drug dealers don't generally
need to travel internationally.

"If you are involved in the drug trade and you're operating
internationally, particularly in Mexico, you are going to need some
pretty high-level connections in order to do that," he said.

As far as the RCMP and the CFSEU are concerned, Whelan said there is
no reason to continue to investigate Ivans and Kendall's activities
in the drug world, noting the case is in the hands of Mexican authorities.

He does hope some lessons have been learned from the deaths.

Though drug trafficking and the gangster lifestyle can look
glamorous, Whelan said it ultimately leads to an early death.

"If nothing else, hopefully youngsters in Kamloops can look at this
and say, 'That's not the lifestyle for me after all.'"