Charges laid in Vancouver gangster slaying

A 25-year-old man has been charged in the slaying of gangster Sandhip Duhre in Vancouver, one of a series of targeted hits in one of BC.'s most violent gang rivalries.

Rabih (Robby) Alkhalil, a former Montreal resident, has been charged with first-degree murder. Alkhalil fled to Greece after the slaying, but was located by authorities after being pulled over in a traffic stop.

Police allege Alkhalil has links to a gang involved in about 40 targeted hits and say they are now in the process of extraditing Alkhalil from Greece.

He is also facing charges for a homicide in Toronto.

Duhre, 36, was shot dead in January 2012 as he sat at a table inside the restaurant at Vancouver's Sheraton Wall Centre.

He was allegedly part of an organized crime group active in the B.C. illicit drug trade and in a long-running conflict with rival gang The Red Scorpions, lead by the infamous Bacon brothers.

Police say the rivalry led to a number of violent targeted hits, including the slaying of the leader of the Dhak-Duhre group, Gurmit Dhak, 32, in Metrotown mall parking lot in October 2010.

In August 2011, in what some believe was retaliation, Red Scorpions founder Jonathan Bacon was killed at the Delta Hotel in Kelowna.

Hells Angels member Larry Amero and a niece of another Hells Angel were also injured in that attack.

In September 2011, police issued a public warning that members of the Duhre group and associated gangs were in danger, and so was anyone associated with them.

Within weeks, a high-ranking Dhak-Duhre member, 24-year-old Jujhar Khun-Khun was shot on a Surrey street, but survived.

In May 2012, associate Gurbinder Singh Toor was ambushed and killed outside a Port Moody recreational complex.

In November 2012, Sukh Dhak, 28, and his bodyguard, Thomas Mantel, were shot dead in a hotel lobby in Burnaby.

In January 2013, associates Manjot Dhillon, 27, and Manjinder Manny Hairan, 29, were shot and killed in Cloverdale and Surrey respectively.