Hell's Angel Associatte Charged with Manslaughter In Vernon
Greg Carr
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060527/crime_vernon_060527/20060527?hub=Canada
has pic of the father of the convicted drug dealer accussed of leading
the drug gang and the business it was run from.
Updated: Sat. May. 27 2006 11:46 PM ET
Undercover RCMP agents arrested several people in B.C.'s Okanagan
Valley Saturday, following an investigation into an alleged criminal
organization.
"This group in the Vernon area is very well known by the whole
community as 'The Greeks,' and it's an organization run by one
individual," alleged Sgt. Al Haslett in an interview with CTV Vancouver
on Saturday.
The group has apparently operated in the small city of 50,000 for
years, and is suspected of murder and drug trafficking.
"One of the biggest things we found is that because The Greeks are so
well known in the Vernon area, and so feared by the people of the
community, that people were refusing to talk to us," Haslett said.
Between 2004 and 2005, there were seven murders and disappearances in
Vernon.
One of those arrested Saturday was 38-year-old Peter Manolakos Jr., but
his father said his son is not involved in any criminal activity.
"They took him," said Peter Manolakos Sr. "There is no reason because
nothing happened."
He said the police harassed his son because he was convicted of drug
charges in the late 1990s.
Manolako added that he had never heard of any crime group called The
Greeks.
Police allege The Greeks were involved in smuggling cocaine and heroin,
and have ties to biker gangs.
"The Hells Angels out of Calgary and Kelowna have sanctioned The Greeks
in Vernon to carry out their drug trafficking business," alleged
Haslett.
RCMP officers are carrying out multiple searches in both North Okanagan
and the lower mainland.
A modest Vernon pizza restaurant allegedly served as a front for The
Greeks' illegal activities.
It's unclear how many people were arrested, but CTV Vancouver's Kate
Corcoran estimated as many as eight.
Those charged will appear in provincial court on Monday.
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10 arrested in Vernon drug roundup
Last updated May 29 2006 11:00 AM PDT
CBC News
The RCMP say they have dealt a blow to an alleged drug-trafficking gang
in the Okanagan, arresting 10 suspects in Vernon over the weekend.
Police say they believe members of the gang are responsible for up to
seven murders in the Vernon area over the past two years
Sgt. Al Haslett of the RCMP's Criminal Intelligence Section said the
gang is run by the biggest cocaine trafficker in the North Okanagan,
who is associated with the Hells Angels in Kelowna, Vancouver and
Calgary.
Haslett said the weekend arrests are the efforts of an RCMP task force
that was put together last September. It was investigating the murders
of five people and the disappearance of two others.
Police believe all seven cases are drug related, and that most, if not
all of them, were committed by members of the gang.
Earlier this year, the RCMP raided a warehouse in Vernon owned by a
Hells Angels associate from Calgary, but made no arrests.
Charges of first-degree murder and drug trafficking are expected to be
laid in Vernon court later today.
http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc_drug-arrests20060529.html
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Keep on investigating and arresting these criminals. Good luck and
happy hunting RCMP!!