B.C. gang killings latest round of retaliation
The slayings of two drug-gang associates in Burnaby, B.C., Monday is likely the latest round of systematic retribution for the killing of gangster Jonathan Bacon outside a Kelowna hotel 15 months ago, sources have told CBC News.
Jonathan Bacon, one of the founders of the Red Scorpion gang was reportedly creating a new alliance at the time with the Hells Angels and possibly also the gang called the Independent Soldiers.
The luxury SUV Bacon and Hells Angel Larry Amero were travelling in was sprayed with automatic gunfire outside the Delta Hotel in August 2011. Bacon was killed, Amero was seriously wounded and the niece of another B.C. Hells Angels member was hit by a bullet that rendered her a quadriplegic.
The CBC News sources said it's believed the hit on Bacon was carried out by an organization known as the Dhak-Duhre gang, working in league with the United Nations gang to eliminate their rivals and grab power in the illegal drug business.
One month after the Bacon slaying, police warned anyone close to the Dhak-Duhre group could be targeted for retaliation.
"If you are associating, if you are hanging around, or you are family or even friends of the Dhaks or the Duhres, you are in danger," said Supt. Tom McLuskie of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.
Shot within weeks
Within weeks, a high-ranking Dhak-Duhre member, 24-year-old Jujhar Khun-Khun, was shot on a Surrey street, but survived.
Four months later, in January 2012, Sandip Duhre, 36, was gunned down in a crowded Vancouver hotel.
In May, associate Gurbinder Singh Toor was ambushed and killed outside a Port Moody recreational complex.
On Monday in Burnaby, the victims were Sukh Dhak, 28, and his bodyguard, Thomas Mantel.
The slaying wiped out the Dhak side of the Dhak-Duhre gang.
Dahk's elder brother, Gurmit, was shot dead at Burnaby's Metrotown mall in October 2010.
Sources say it’s also possible that it was that killing which set the whole murderous spree in motion, as it might have led to the retaliation against Bacon.
With the death of the remaining Dhak brother, only two Duhre brothers are left standing in what's alleged to be the Dhak-Duhre group — Balraj Duhre, 38, and 35-year-old Paul Duhre.
Balraj Duhre has escaped death twice in the past.Whether or not Bacon’s death has finally been avenged is a question that possibly only the Duhre's enemies know the answer to.
With files from the CBC's Eric Rankin