VicPD say that in January, a man who reportedly has ties to a BC gang was arrested after he was seen selling vape products to students outside three separate Greater Victoria schools.
Police had a covert operation dubbed, ‘Project Halo’ in which investigators say this suspect was selling vape products in broad daylight at Esquimalt High School and Reynolds Secondary School.
They also say he was seen on the property of North Saanich Middle School after hours.
When police made their arrest, they say the suspect had the following on his person:
- 859 nicotine vapes
- 495 THC vapes
- 290 THC gummies
- 1.6 kilograms of dried cannabis
- Four imitation firearms
- Three knives
- Two masks
- Composite brass knuckles
Although VicPD allege this suspect has ties to a gang on the mainland, they will not share any information about which one or what evidence they gathered to prove that he was trying to recruit students.
VicPD told Victoria Buzz that they refrain from sharing information about the gang so as to not “give them more publicity.”
“I am proud of the work Strike Force has done in gathering intelligence and building evidence in order to make an arrest,” said Chief Del Manak.
Manak made a point to comment on the fact that there are no School Police Officer Liaison (SPOL) anymore in School District 61 (SD61) since the program was scrapped.
There are no more officers in schools because the District found that many BIPOC and 2SLGBTQI+ students felt unsafe in their presence.
Related:
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“This is just one person of many who have been observed, and our message to those who are targeting our youth is ‘You are not welcome in our communities, you are not welcome in our schools,” Manak continued.
“We see you, we are watching you and we are coming for you.’”
VicPD say that some of the tactics used by the alleged gang members are:
- Targeting vulnerable youth seeking a sense of belonging regardless of gender, ethnicity or socio-economic status.
- Using newly recruited youth or young adults to recruit more youth on their behalf
- Using extortion as a primary tactic to recruitment
One example of extortion that VicPD says a gang member may use is getting the youth to sell vape products and setting up a scenario where they owe a “debt” to the provider.
From there, they may use threats of violence to get them to pay this debt which can sometimes be thousands of dollars.
Police say that in these cases, victims often hesitate to call the police for fear of violence.
The Mobile Youth Services Team (MYST), which combines a social worker with a Greater Victoria police officer, works actively in the community to combat sex trafficking, extortion and gang activity among youths.
Mia Golden is one half of MYST, a qualified youth counsellor and a filmmaker who works tirelessly to spread awareness of these issues she believes are more prevalent on Vancouver Island than most would think.
“We have seen an aggressive shift in recruitment over the last year,” said Golden.
“Now, gang members are targeting students in school as young as middle school, who are being groomed and recruited through selling products like vapes, designer clothing or drugs.”
Police say further details are not available at this time, as this is an ongoing investigation.
Chief Manak has reportedly put forth a request for the SPOL program to be reinstated at SD61 and ever since, they have been sending more gang-related media releases than normal.
