West Van man linked to Hells Angels slain in Mexico

A West Vancouver man associated with the Hells Angels has been shot to death in Mexico, Postmedia News has learned.

Guiseppe Bugge, 42, died in a hail of bullets Thursday night at a posh shopping centre in an exclusive neighbourhood of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Local news reports said three vehicles pulled up around 9:30 p.m. and between eight and 10 men jumped out and fired at Bugge, who has a long history of fraud in B.C.

More than 140 bullets were fired at him, killing him instantly and injuring one of his Mexican-American associates and two bystanders.

Jalisco prosecutor Raul Sanchez Jimenez said at a news conference that the state government had asked the Canadian and American consulates for information about Bugge and the injured man.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Bugge is known to police in this province.

“He is associated with the Hells Angels and involved in drug trafficking,” Winpenny said.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the federal government is providing “consular services” to the victim’s family.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian citizen who has been murdered in Mexico,” Brittany Fletcher said in an email.

“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information. Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act, no further information can be disclosed.”

The Canadian government has issued advisories warning people not to travel to several northern and western states in Mexico “due to the high levels of violence and organized crime.”

But the state of Jalisco, where the city of Guadalajara is located, is not under an advisory.

Bugge had been living in a West Vancouver house with a 2018 assessed value of more than $5 million.

In March 2018, he incorporated a company called G.S. Crypto Currency Ltd. with the B.C. corporate registry. He was listed as the sole director.

In July, Bugge and his new company sued the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce after it froze his corporate account to carry out an investigation of a transaction.

“As a business, Crypto exchanges currency for a digital currency known as Bitcoin,” Bugge’s suit says.

The court documents say Bugge was notified that his account was under investigation on June 4, 2018 over a US$134,408 cheque he took from a customer to buy Bitcoin.

He filed his suit days later, saying in it that “Bugge was not prepared to tolerate an indefinite block of the accounts.”

He won a default court order to release the funds on July 5 because CIBC filed no response, Bugge’s court documents state.

Bugge also has a second company called GSSK Rare Coins and Paper Money, which he started in 2013.

And he has operated a number of moving companies over the years that were the subject of many customer complaints and at least one criminal investigation.

In June 2005, Bugge was kidnapped in what police described as a drug trade-linked extortion.

He later showed up at a stranger’s door assaulted, handcuffed in plastic straps and suffering from cuts.