WELL-KNOWN gangster Gary Kang, 24, was fatally shot at his family’s residence in Surrey around 5 a.m. on Wednesday near 161st Street and 30th Avenue in the Morgan Heights neighbourhood. He was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries.
This was the third homicide in Surrey since December 27, when Harman Singh Dhesi, 19, who was known to police was found inside his vehicle in Surrey in the area of 137A Street and 90th Avenue with gunshot wounds and later succumbed to his injuries.
A day later, on December 28, 14-year-old Tequel Willis of Burnaby, who was also known to police, was shot to death near 148A Street and 110th Avenue in Surrey.
Gary Kang’s brother, Randeep Kang, was shot and killed on October 27, 2017, in the area of the 11300-block of Alpen Place, Surrey. Gary was also injured in the shooting.
Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) Sgt. Frank Jang told the media on Wednesday that there were family members present when Gary Kang was shot, but fortunately, none of them was injured.
Surrey RCMP Spokesperson Sgt. Elenore Sturko and Staff-Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit – British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) also addressed the media.
Jang said that around 5:40 a.m., IHIT received notice of a car fire from Langley RCMP near 229th Street and 78A Avenue. But he said it was too early to tell definitively if the vehicle is linked to the homicide.
Jang said the victim was known to police and police believe that this was a targeted hit and it is linked to the ongoing Lower Mainland Gang Conflict. He said it was much too early to comment as to the motive behind the homicide, but given what IHIT knew of the victim’s history with gang activity, it has reached out to and is engaged with its partners from the CFSEU-BC, the Surrey Gang Enforcement Team and other gang enforcement units throughout the region.
Jang appealed for dashcam video, which he said was always important in their investigations, if you were driving in and around that area of Morgan Heights or if you were in the area of North Langley on 232nd Street just north of Highway 1 between 5 a.m. and 5:40 a.m.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
Should you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
In a press statement later, Jang said: “IHIT is working with the I-Teams, the Surrey RCMP, the Langley RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service to gather evidence. An extensive canvass for video evidence and witnesses is underway. It is believed there is more than one suspect involved in the shooting.”
Sturko said Surrey RCMP knew Kang as a member of a gang – the Kang crime group. She warned that being affiliated with gangs and engaging in drug trafficking attracts violence. She said that if Kang’s murder was related to his gang activities, then there was a potential of further retribution among those connected to such activities.
She said Surrey RCMP is implementing a plan that includes deployment of more members of the Surrey Gang Enforcement Team across the city, increasing the size of the team, direct contact with gang members and affiliates, increased curfew checks, continued targeted enforcement and vehicle interdiction throughout the city.
Houghton noted that gangs have no boundaries and CFSEU-BC will be keeping tabs on those that they know pose the greatest risks to public safety. CFSEU-BC will also be supporting other units including the Surrey Gang Enforcement Team with its own Uniformed Gang Enforcement Team that functions throughout the province.
Houghton pointed out that incidents like this homicide often trigger reconsideration in those involved in gangs and he reached out to them, telling them to contact the CFSEU-BC’s gang intervention and exiting section at 604-897-6023 for help.
BACK in 2017, when Gary Kang’s brother, Randeep Kang, was shot and killed, Jang said : “Mr. [Randeep] Kang was known to police and associated to gang activity. Investigators believe Mr. Kang’s murder was targeted and linked to other gang violence in the Lower Mainland.”
The Kangs’ house in Vancouver at Kaslo Street and East 22nd Avenue was shot at just two months before Randeep was killed. At that time, Vancouver Police said: “Investigators believe the incident was not random and that the house was targeted. There were no injuries. No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.” Sources said the Kang family no longer lived there.
And three years before that, in August 2014, multiple shots were fired at the same house. Although they were not named back then, I had reported then that the house was that of one of the alleged chief players in the gang rivalry that was rocking the South Slope area of East Vancouver.
Police sources told me at the time that basically it was a conflict between two groups of South Asian youths, from four different families. There were two main players and each of them had a special friend.
In fact, because of the ongoing threats of violence at the time, Vancouver Police in August 2015 moved special security cameras near the Kangs’ house. Just before that those cameras had been installed in the 1400-block of East 54 to keep a check on their rivals.
In December 2019 IHIT announced that it had arrested 21-year-old Tyrel Hieu Nguyen Quesnelle for his alleged involvement in Randeep Kang’s murder. IHIT said that Quesnelle was also involved in the murder of Jagvir Malhi of Abbotsford, who police said was an unintended victim of what was a shooting targeting another individual, in November 2018.
Police sources at the time told The VOICE the accused is ‘connected to Brothers Keepers’ crime group.
In August 2018, Vancouver Police said that the Kang group is “composed of members of the Kang family, including Sameet Kang, Gary Kang, Randy Kang (deceased), their parents, and other close associates.”
They said: “The Kang Group is closely aligned with the Red Scorpions Gang, specifically with Jamie Bacon and Kyle Latimer. It’s believed they share common interests in drug lines, and that they commit violence at the behest of or for one another.
“The Kang / Latimer Group has been in conflict with multiple groups over the past 18 months and their allegiances remain fluid and ever-changing.”
Project Territory, a joint forces police operation, targeted the Kang / Latimer group. A 17-month investigation initiated in March 2017 resulted in:
* 92 criminal charges against 14 individuals
* seizure of 93 firearms
* seizure of one pressure cooker improvised explosive device
* seizure of 59 prohibited devices
* seizure of more than 9.5 kilograms of fentanyl
* seizure of close to 40 kilograms of other illicit drugs
* seizure of $833,000 cash
* seizure of $800,000 worth of jewelry, and
* seizure of $350,000 worth of collector cars.
The criminal offences included drug trafficking, firearms possession, proceeds of crime, and participation in a criminal organization.
Vancouver Sun reports that Gary Kang pleaded guilty last month in B.C. Supreme Court to several charges in connection to the 2018 Vancouver Police investigation and was awaiting sentencing. Kang was out on bail at the time of his murder, while his brother Sam remains in custody.
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