Surrey shootings increasing, majority drug-related: RCMP
New players getting involved in street level trade, say police
Surrey Mounties showed off a drug haul worth more than $4.5 million Friday as they revealed that shootings are on the rise again this year.
Since Jan. 1, there have been 28 confirmed incidents of shots fired, with five people being injured and one killed so far.
The shootings spiked in March, Supt. Manny Mann told reporters at a news conference.
“Over the last few weeks the Surrey RCMP has seen an increase in shots fired calls, which is understandably causing concern for both the public and the police,” he said.
“I can tell you that a majority of these incidents are targeted, which leads us to believe there is not a significant threat to public safety.”
Mann said the suspects linked to the recent violence are not associated to the warring drug gangs involved in the 2015 conflict. In fact, the vacuum left by arrests last year has resulted in new players getting involved in the street level drug trade, he said.
“After making over 800 arrests and detentions last year, we disrupted those who were involved in the drug conflicts last year,” he said. “The investigations into the recent shootings are progressing well. We are making headway thanks to the cooperation of the public and the intelligence gleaned through our enforcement efforts.”
He said five of the 28 shootings are related to a conflict between two emerging groups. All are believed linked to disputes over drug territory or dial-a-dope lines.
Nine incidents involved shots being fired into a residence or building. In two cases, police found a shell casing though there were no reports of shots fired. Most of the gunplay has happened between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Three people believed to be involved in the shootings are facing charges, Mann said.
Meanwhile a Surrey RCMP drug investigation has resulted in one of the biggest seizures ever in the city of heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, crystal meth and fake OxyContin. RCMP Supt. Shawn Gill stood in front of part of the haul, which he said is worth more than $4.5 million at the wholesale level.
He said the drugs were found when investigators stopped a vehicle driven by Abbotsford resident Pardip Hayer, 30, in Newton on March 16. Hayer is now facing four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. Gill said the massive quantity of drugs seized suggests a link to organized crime, though no group has yet been identified.
He said the investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected.
“We are attacking this situation now and we are attacking it aggressively,” Gill said. “With the intelligence we are receiving, our proactive enforcement teams are making it very difficult for these people to conduct their illegal business in our city.”
The seizure should save lives, given the volume of fentanyl that was taken off the streets, Gill said.
“The seizure of this amount of drugs will have an impact on those fighting over it,” he said.
Gill said “the drug trade is constantly changing.”
“The individuals change and the drugs change, but the problem remains the same — young people are being lured into this criminal lifestyle with illusions of money and power, but the reality is much different.”
The related violence is an issue “that goes beyond police,” he said.
“It involves the entire community. It involves parents, schools, prevention programs and community involvement. For our part, we are working day and night to suppress both the violence and drug trafficking in Surrey.”