GANG ACTIVITY IS EVERYONE'S PROBLEM, BUSINESS COMMUNITY TOLD

Langley is home to the next up-and-coming criminal gang in the Lower
Mainland.

Supt. Dan Malo, head of B.C.'s Integrated Gang Task Force, shared the
startling piece of information with the local business community on
Tuesday night, when he addressed the Greater Langley Chamber of
Commerce at its monthly dinner meeting.

The Empire Gang formed in Langley and spread to Surrey, Abbotsford,
Vancouver, White Rock and Delta.

"But it was born here," Malo said, calling the gang, "the next Red
Scorpions."

"The Red Scorpions, three years ago, were what (the Empire Gang) is
today. And we all know what happened in that Surrey high rise," he
said, referring to the murders of six people, including two innocent
victims, inside a Whalley apartment building in October, 2007.

Identifying themselves through tattoos - including the word Empire,
scrawled across the insides of their wrists - the Empire Gang has
drawn up its own "rules of engagement" - listing what is expected of
members and the consequences of breaking those rules.

It's a way of organizing themselves, he explained.

"They're trying to grow up. The Red Scorpions grew up and a number of
people were killed."

Last year, there were 21 murders in the Lower Mainland, 14 of them
were gang related, Malo said.

This year there have been seven murders. Of those, four are considered
to be gang related.

Still, people aren't as worried as they should be, said
Malo.

The attitude has been, "Let them kill each other, as long as they
don't hurt us."

"Should we care if there's a grow op in the neighbourhood? I
do."

The emerging trend of "grow rips," where criminals break into
marijuana grow ops and steal cash, weapons and drugs, should concern
everyone, he said, because of the level of violence associated with
them.

Gang members use drug rip kits, containing bullet-proof vests, bear
spray - "and they're nowhere near going hiking" - and batons, among
other weapons to steal from one another.

"There has been a spike in grow rips and we're trying to figure out
why," he said.

At the same time, the number of home invasions has risen
sharply.

It's happening, he said, because "there is jewelry, money or drugs
behind that door.

"The problem is, 123 Main Street quickly becomes 132 Main Street when
you're addicted to Meth."

Members of these mid-level gangs - there are around 25 currently
operating in the Lower Mainland - reach out to higher levels of
organized crime "to get drugs to supply, and be 'the man,'" said Malo.

Using the recent cocaine bust in Port Hardy, which netted bricks with
an estimated street value of $100 million, as an example, he said:
"Someone is going to die as a result of that seizure, somewhere in the
world."

But it would have had serious local implications, too, had the
smugglers not been caught.

Had the cocaine made it through, it would have been broken down and
sold by 15- and 16-year-old couriers through local dial-a-dope
services, which exist in Langley.

"(They) will show up on a corner in front of your business," he told
the crowd.

Those young kids, who make between $20 and $40 a day, are employed and
abused by the mid-level gang members whose only concern is living a
flashy lifestyle - whatever the cost to others.

"There are not many 23 to 25-year-old kids driving $70,000 vehicles
and living in $1.5 million homes that are truly contributing to our
community," said Malo.

And it should concern business owners, he said, because gang members
have to spend their money somewhere.

They go out and buy expensive houses and flashy vehicles to park in
the driveway. They add expensive rims and tinted windows.

Many of those $70,000-$90,000 vehicles contain sophisticated secret
compartments where drugs, money and weapons can be hidden.

While it is illegal to use a secret compartment, it's not illegal to
have one, Malo said.

The compartments, which can be opened and closed remotely, "are built
by skilled technicians, who know exactly what they're doing."

Police regularly seize 9 mm automatic weapons, drugs and Blackberries
from the concealed compartments.

"If you know anyone who's building them, ask them if it's OK that a
killing happens in your backyard," he told the business owners.

"The business community has to get together and say, 'We don't want
your money.'"

The best place to intervene, Malo, said, is with the teenagers who are
running drugs for the gangs. By the time they've reached gang member
status and are living the life, it's too late.

"As a community, we need to wrap ourselves around these kids," he
said.

Efforts have included getting kids into the YMCA at no charge,
introducing them to members of the B.C. Lions, karate lessons and
other self-esteem building exercises."

Within the past 12 months, he said, four kids who were involved with
gangs have turned their lives around and started intervening with
other teens involved in gang activity.

"That's a number of clients we won't have."