3 alleged gang members arrested in Vancouver murder conspiracy investigation

Three men with ties to gangs have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder after allegedly plotting to kill a rival drug trafficker working on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Vancouver police launched an investigation last month after officers found out about the alleged plot which a statement said involved members of the Redd Alert and Independent Soldiers gangs. 

Three suspects were arrested this week as a result of the police operation.

Police said Brian Kiraly-Miller, 26, and Stefan Janic, 25, were arrested near Patterson Avenue and Willingdon Street in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday night. One of the men was bitten by a K-9 police dog during the arrest and was treated in hospital before he was taken to jail.

The third suspect, Cameron Oppenheim, 26, was arrested at his Vancouver home on Tuesday.

Kiraly-Miller and Janic appeared in court on Sunday. They are from Vancouver and New Westminster, respectively.

The charge was sworn against Oppenheim on Wednesday morning.

"This is a major break in the VPD's ongoing efforts to reduce gang violence and protect vulnerable people who live in the Downtown Eastside," Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said of the charges.

"These three arrests have made the Downtown Eastside a safer place and should serve as a warning to others intent on committing violence in our city," the officer wrote in a statement.

Oppenheim is also under investigation for his alleged role in a home invasion that happened in Vancouver's West End on Oct. 3, according to police. 

Anyone with information about the investigations is asked to call Vancouver police or, in order to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers.