BCJun 11, 2024
Vancouver police arrest five, seize drugs, in Quebec gang investigation
Vancouver police have arrested five men, and recovered more than 24 kilograms of illicit drugs, after a lengthy investigation into a gang originally from Quebec.
A statement from the department says members of the gang known as Zone 43 established operations in Vancouver and were the focus of a 14-month investigation by its organized crime section.
The statement says investigators served five search warrants in May three in Vancouver and two in Burnaby.
It says police recovered a large amount of drugs, including seven kilograms of fentanyl, 11 kilograms of cocaine and two kilograms of methamph
BCJun 11, 2024
Rare white grizzly bear Nakoda and her cubs die in separate crashes in B.C. park
Parks Canada says a rare white grizzly bear has died of injuries that happened when she was struck by a car on the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia's Yoho National Park, on the same day her cubs were killed in an earlier crash.
It says the crash that killed the adult bear, nicknamed Nakoda, happened on Thursday about 12 hours after the two cubs were struck and killed on the highway in southeast B.C. that morning.
The agency says wildlife management staff had been repairing fencing along the road when the adult bear was startled by a train and ran in front of two vehicles.
It says one v
BCJun 10, 2024
RCMP, B.C. Securities Commission deliver warnings to 10 suspected 'money mules'
Police and the British Columbia Securities Commission say they have delivered warnings to 10 suspected "money mules" in an effort to fight investment fraud aimed at people in the province.
A joint statement issued by the commission and RCMP says investigators have hand-delivered warning letters to people in Metro Vancouver who were suspected of transferring funds on behalf of criminals.
They say the use of the so-called mules is a common tactic in money laundering, helping criminals move their cash by concealing the source and destination of the funds.
The securities commission says it identif
BCJun 10, 2024
Wildfire that forced thousands from Fort Nelson, B.C., now listed as under control
The wildfire that forced 4,700 people to leave their homes in Fort Nelson, B.C., is now listed as under control.
The BC Wildfire Service says in a social media statement that the 123-square-kilometre fire in northeastern B.C. is not expected to grow beyond its current boundary.
All evacuation alerts connected to the fire have been lifted.
The Parker Lake blaze came within a few kilometres of Fort Nelson on May 10, prompting the evacuation of most of the town.
The fire destroyed four homes and damaged several other properties.
Rain and cooler temperatures have allowed crews to reduce the wildfi
BCJun 10, 2024
Seaplane crashes into Vancouver's Coal Harbour
Emergency crews have responded to what appears to be a float plane crash in Vancouver's Coal Harbour waters.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Fire Chief Karen Fry says in a post on social media platform X that police and rescuers are at the scene of a "marine incident" in Coal Harbour on the Vancouver waterfront.
Images and videos on social media show what appears to be a small plane partially submerged in the water with a SeaBus and several other vessels nearby.
TransLink spokeswoman Tina Lovgreen says in another social media post that the captain of the SeaBus saw the float plane in the water
BCJun 06, 2024
Vancouver mayor grieves stabbing death of 32-year-old chef near Chinatown
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has issued a statement saying police are working tirelessly to find the person responsible for a fatal stabbing near the city's Chinatown early Wednesday.
Sim says the city is grieving the loss of 32-year-old Wataru Kakiuchi, a talented chef in a Yaletown Japanese restaurant.
Sim says the killing was a senseless act of violence that has left the city in shock and mourning.
Vancouver police say Kakiuchi was found injured at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning but died before he could be taken to hospital.
Kakiuchi lived in nearby Burnaby.
Sim's statement says that on behal
BCJun 06, 2024
182 deaths linked to B.C. unregulated drugs in April, 14,500 deaths in eight years
The British Columbia Coroners Service says 182 people died in April from drug overdoses.
A statement from the service says the toll represents a 24 per cent decrease in deaths from April 2023, but "the risk posed by unregulated drug supply remains very high."
It says in the eight years since the public-health emergency was declared, 14,582 people in the province have died from toxic drugs, including 763 in the first four months of this year.
The coroner says fentanyl continues to be the primary driver of overdoses this year, and was detected in 82 per cent of toxicological tests.
Unregulated d
BCJun 06, 2024
Police in B.C. arrest two for theft of $2.5M worth of stolen vehicles
Two men face more than a dozen charges each after British Columbia's provincial auto crime team recovered 29 high-end vehicles valued at $2.5 million.
RCMP say in a news release that they started their investigation in February when numerous newer-model trucks and SUVs were stolen across the Lower Mainland.
They say the vehicles, including Range Rovers and Toyota Tundras, were allegedly taken using sophisticated technology to get past anti-theft mechanisms.
The two suspects, aged 20 and 29 from Delta, B.C., were arrested last month and face 14 criminal charges, including theft of a motor vehic
BCJun 06, 2024
D-Day veteran from Abbotsford, B.C., to receive France's highest honour
A British Columbia Second World War veteran who landed at Normandy on D-Day 80 years ago will be presented with France's highest decoration in a ceremony in Vancouver today.
Joseph Vogelgesang, who is 99 years old, went to France along with 14,000 other Canadians, in what would be the start of the liberation of Western Europe.
A statement from the Consulate General of France in Vancouver says Vogelgesang will be decorated as a Knight of the Legion of Honour to acknowledge his contribution and bravery in the liberation of France.
Consul General Nicolas Baudouin says the medal shows “profound