GANGS AND DRUGS THE COMMON THREADS IN RECENT AREA MURDERS

The Central Okanagan has already had its fourth murder this year and every
one of them appears connected in some way to gangs and drugs.

The murder of 23-year-old Michael Naud Tuesday night is believed to have
been a hit by a well-known Vancouver crime family. Tara Chequis, 21, was a
heavy drug user who was killed in January in a notorious Hein Road crack
house which had been operating for some time.

In April, Dean Desimone, 31, and Tony Gorkoff, 24, were gunned down in an
upscale Peachland home.

Police said the pair were known to police and were drug related.

The murder of Doug Kuntz in Lake Country in March 2003 is also believed to
be an organized hit over a debt.

Supt. Bill McKinnon, in charge of Kelowna detachment, was asked to comment
on this spate of drug world slayings but said he wouldn't speculate on who
may have shot Naud.

This week, current and former members of the Hell's Angels biker gang pled
guilty to assaulting a former associate two years ago. Last month, an
assault trial heard extensive details of the inner operations of a Kelowna
crack house.

Organized crime is nothing new to Kelowna. Marijuana grow operations have
been proliferating here for years.

But the violence associated with them, including numerous beatings where
police report it as "not a random act" are often signs of gang involvement.

The murders this year punctuate a two-year increase in violent crime in
Kelowna and area. RCMP statistics show the number of reported robberies has
increased to 214 from 98 in 2001 and the number of assaults has increased
to 1,526 from 1,206 in 2001.