Task force targets increased gang activity in the Okanagan

ctvbc.ca Date: Saturday Oct. 16, 2010
Mounties in the Okanagan say they're seeing an influx of gang activity from criminals and suspects forced to flee police crackdowns in Metro Vancouver.  Drug investigator Matt Rattee of Vernon, a city with a population of roughly 35,000 located north of Kelowna, said he's seen gangs associated with the infamous Independent Soldiers, United Nations and Red Scorpions groups emerge. "What we're seeing here is tentacles of organized crime reaching out," he said. "We're experiencing some of the same violent encounters we're used to seeing in the Lower Mainland on a smaller scale here."The sudden increase in gang presence has led to brutal clashes for control of the lucrative local drug trade. (More)