Police in Dawson Creek Creek and Prince George believe they've nipped a startup drug operation in the bud after a raid on a compound outside Dawson Creek led to the arrest of an associate of the infamous UN Gang.
Dawson Creek RCMP and a police special forces unit out of Prince George raided a 400-acre property outside Dawson Creek on Aug. 30 and discovered "a cache of stolen property" as well as drugs, guns and cash.
A 32-year-old man is being held on a string of outstanding charges in Newfoundland and Alberta until the Crown can recommend charges for the offences in B.C., RCMP Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said.
Police have yet to identify the man by name. Authorities say he is the leader of a gang that has established a foothold in the Peace Country drug trade, and led police on a four-hour foot and ATV chase before eventually being captured.
He was arrested carrying a bag containing packets of crack and powder cocaine, $35,000 in cash and a handgun.
Several other individuals were on the property at the time of the raid, but have since been released pending further investigation, Houghton said. The man who fled has been identified as the prime suspect in the case.
A number of individuals in the start-up operation are believed to have ties to gangs in Grande Prairie.
Once the man was detained, police searched the property and discovered a number of stolen motor vehicles, including a motorcycle, a quad, two pickup trucks, a travel trailer and a Sea-Doo boat. According to a release, police believe the stolen property is worth around $200,000.
Houghton said the nascent criminal organization was unique not only for its connections to the UN, but because of its relationship with gangs in Grande Prairie. He added that it's hard to say definitively where the organization was positioned in the local drug trade.
"We don't think that it was the number one or the biggest drug operation in the region by any stretch," he told the Alaska Highway News. "There are a number that have long had a foundation in the Peace Region."
As well, it's unclear where the man police arrested fits in the overall UN hierarchy. "We don't know where he is in the food chain, whether he's a lieutenant or someone operating on his own, but we don't believe he's at the top by any stretch," he said.
The United Nations gang reportedly formed in the 1990s in Abbotsford, and has long been one of the top players in the B.C. drug trade. In 2009, the UN was involved in a bloody gang war. Houghton said police are aware of a number of UN organizations in B.C.'s outlying communities.
