Man remains behind bars in Calgary pending deportation

A convicted drug trafficker who is to be deported to Vietnam will remain in custody in Calgary for now, despite his argument that he is a hard-working labourer.

Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen, 25, who goes by the name Jackie Tran, was ordered deported four years ago after building a criminal record, but he appealed the decision.

'I did get off on the wrong foot with my first offence of trafficking but since then I haven't really got a real conviction.' — Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen

The appeal was denied last week, and on Tuesday, the Immigration and Refugee Board ordered Nguyen held at the Calgary Remand Centre for the duration of the deportation process because he has been deemed a flight risk.

The Canada Border Services Agency argued that Nguyen posed a threat to the public and would likely try to flee if released, especially since he did not appear at his own appeal.

"I am of the opinion that if I release you from custody … when the time arrived for you to report, for you to be removed from Canada, there is a likelihood that you will not comply," Paul Kyba, a member of the IRB, said at Nguyen's deportation review in Calgary.

Nguyen was arrested last week while he was leaving the pre-funeral services for a man police said was a known gang member.

Calgary police and border services officials say Nguyen is associated with a city gang called the Fresh Off the Boat Killers, or F.O.B.K., that deals primarily in rock cocaine, which he denied.

Nguyen has prior convictions for assault with a weapon and drug trafficking.

"I did get off on the wrong foot with my first offence of trafficking but since then, I haven't really got a real conviction," Nguyen told the review via phone from the remand centre, arguing he's been working as a glass cutter and paying taxes for the past seven years.

Nguyen's deportation will take at least another month as immigration officials said they're awaiting a risk assessment and travel documents from the Vietnamese government.