Hiiraan Online

Bloodthirsty thugs from out of town replace native gangs, more deaths predicted as they fight over drug and sex trade

By ANDREW HANON
Saturday, January 24, 2009

"The violence is going to get more egregious than we've ever seen," warned a man close to the trade. "Pretty soon they're going to start shooting each other in broad daylight on street corners. They don't care who's watching - or who's in the way. It's going to be just like when that girl was shot in Toronto."

He was referring to 15-year-old Jane Creba, who was killed in the crossfire of a gang shootout while shopping on Boxing Day, 2005.

"There's a lot of violence the public's not hearing about, too," said the man. "A lot of people have been beaten, some almost to death."

Edmonton's once-fearsome native gangs - notably Redd Alert, Alberta Warriors and Indian Posse - are no longer major players, said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"They're the little guys now," he said. "They're working for the other guys. They're getting pushed further and further down the food chain."

The newcomers are aggressively taking over the street sex trade, too.

Jack Kraus, who works with the prostitution outreach program Project SNUG, said that in recent weeks at least seven prostitutes on the 107 Avenue stroll have reported men with African accents coming up to them and saying, "you're working for me now."

"These women were being pimped out by their so-called boyfriends and suddenly they're told they're working for some other guy. No argument, no debate," said Kraus.

The highest profile newcomers, according to the man, are Somali gangsters from Toronto.

But others are also flowing into the city, as well as local groups fighting to keep them out and tighten their own grip on the drug trade.

Among the gangs gaining a foothold in Edmonton are the Vancouver-based Independent Soldiers, who reportedly have ties to the Hells Angels, and the U.N. Gang. Both groups are bitter rivals and have reputations for savage, remorseless violence.

All of these groups, the man said, "are big players with a lot of money behind them."

Another major player is Fresh Off the Boat, a local group founded by the children of southeast Asian immigrants.

Blood has been flowing for months in Edmonton.

This week two men linked to the drug trade were gunned down in broad daylight within an hour of each other.

On Tuesday night Cody Lee Johnson, 29 was shot in his Escalade, which then rolled into a house in the west end. Just 45 minutes later Alberto Vasquez, 24, was blown away in the MacEwan neighbourhood on the southside. Police say the two men knew each other.

At least four young Somali men, several of whom police say have ties to the drug trade in Toronto, have been shot to death in Edmonton.

The body of one of them, Abdul Kadir Mohamoud, 24, was found in Grand Trunk Park on the north side on Dec. 2. His killers had left him with his pants pulled down.

"That's a big insult," said the man. "Whoever did that was sending a message to Toronto."

The head of the Edmonton police gang unit agreed.

"Yes, they're trying to send a message, without a doubt," said Staff Sgt. Kevin Galvin.

Most gang violence, he said is "structured, strategic and tactical. In other words, it's done for a purpose."

Some of it, he said, is called "reputation violence," committed to instill fear in others.

But he, added some of the bloodshed is also "disciplinary," people paying the price for not being able to repay their debts because of the declining economy.

Galvin said while police are always worried about bystanders getting hurt when gang violence escalates, law-abiding citizens who have no contact with criminals face little or no risk.

Source: SunMedia, Jan  24, 2009