Richmond resident Vincent Ramos's underworld nicknames were "CEO" and "Business." He was so successful in providing encrypted BlackBerries and other electronic devices to organized criminals that he raked in $80 million during his decade running Phantom Secure. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: CEO of criminal encryption company hid $80 million
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Would-be killer says he thought Bacon prepared the gun he used
The star Crown witness at the Jamie Bacon trial admitted Friday that there were some gaps in his preparations the night he set out to kill Bacon associate Dennis Karbovanec. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Karbovanec shooter says he didn't prepare well for hit
CD ended his third week on the stand at the trial of Jamie Bacon Friday. He is expected to continue his cross-examination next week. He was very calm and reflective as he faced intense questioning about events on Dec. 31, 2008 before Dennis Karbovanec was shot in Mission. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: IHIT investigating second Surrey murder this week
Homicide investigators haven't yet released the identity of a man in his 20s who was shot to death in Surrey Friday. Read More
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Police investigate Surrey street battle with possible gang links
Police in Surrey are investigating a chaotic street battle involving car and foot chases and an assault in Newton on Saturday night. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Mounties investigate Surrey street fight
Video surveillance from several Surrey houses near 135A St. and 88 Ave. were posted on several social media sites Sunday, showing a disturbing street conflict in a normally quiet residential neighbourhood. Cars chase each other, some crashing. One man is deliberately stuck by a vehicle. Others jump in and out and look like they are attacking someone off-screen. Read More
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Farnworth concerned about Surrey street brawl, brazen gang violence
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says he was “absolutely shocked” at the brazen violence of a group of young men involved in a car and foot chase and assault in Newton on Saturday night. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Minister condemns street fight, gang violence
I got some political reaction from the Public Safety Minister, as well as from Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum about the escalating violence. And IHIT provided more information about the recent slaying of teen Austin Grewal. Read More
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International criminal set up companies in B.C. to launder funds
A Richmond man who pleaded guilty in the U.S. to aiding the Sinaloa cartel and other international organized crime groups hid his illicit cash in bank accounts of shell companies he registered with the B.C. government. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Criminals set up companies with ease in BC
I was working on this story this week after returning from a conference in Winnipeg. I found it a little surprising that Richmond resident Vincent Ramos was so easily able to set up a number of companies and register them with the B.C. government in Victoria. Then he opened 30 different bank accounts, about half of them using his corporations so he could move as much as $80 million U.S. Read More
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Mistrial declared in Jamie Bacon's murder plot trial
After deliberating for two and a half days, the jurors deciding the fate of Jamie Bacon told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge Saturday that they were deadlocked and could not reach a verdict. Read More
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Rarity of mistrials indicate the legal system is working, says former B.C. attorney general
Mistrials resulting from deadlocked juries are extremely rare and are a sign that the judicial system is working, former B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal said Sunday. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Jamie Bacon to face second trial
Well, my European vacation was interrupted with the news that the jury was deadlocked in Jamie Bacon's case, forcing a mistrial after two and a half days of deliberations. So I wrote a couple of stories from Zurich, which I am posting here. Read More
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Richmond IT expert sentenced to 9 years in U.S. prison for helping violent criminal organizations
The Richmond man who helped violent criminal organizations evade police through specialized encryption technology was sentenced to nine years in a U.S. prison Tuesday. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Ramos gets 9 years in prison
The U.S. Attorney's office suggested that 240 months - 20 years - would be a fitting sentence for Richmond's Vincent Ramos for heading the company that provided encrypted phones to organized crime groups around the world. But a U.S. District Court judge decided on a lesser term Tuesday. Read More
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Metro Vancouver gang expands to Vancouver Island
One of the Lower Mainland's newer gangs is now operating on Vancouver Island. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Brothers Keepers expanding to other parts of BC
Not many people linked to the Brothers Keepers gang have been arrested or charged in Metro Vancouver despite the gang’s links to the on-going Lower Mainland gang conflict. But Victoria Police have made arrests recently of two people associated to the BK. Here’s my story: Metro Vancouver gang expands to Vancouver Island KIM BOLAN Updated: […]
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Appeal court increases sentence of Vancouver drug trafficker
A Vancouver drug trafficker caught with a firearm and ammunition should spend three years in jail and not the two to which he was sentenced last fall, the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled. Read More
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REAL SCOOP: Traffickers' sentence increased to 3 years
It has been some time since courts across Canada struck down the three-year mandatory minimum sentence for carrying either a loaded gun or a gun with ammunition nearby. But according to the B.C. Court of Appeal, a three-year sentence is still appropriate for the firearm conviction in the case of a Vancouver trafficker who kept a gun for protection. Read More
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'Police have become part of the mental-health system:' B.C. coroner studies deaths after police encounters
Police across the province need to work closer with mental-health officials in assessing vulnerable people with whom they have contact, a new study by the B.C. Coroners Services says. Read More
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