Posters of most wanted rioters to go out in parts of BC
Posted March 8, 2012 2:36 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Vancouver Police are targeting the five most wanted rioters in a poster campaign. Seventy-thousand are being handed out to people around the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island.
Until 11:00 p.m., 340 volunteers and 70 police officers will be will be passing out the posters showing the five most wanted and 100 other suspects.
“These five individuals were responsible, or suspected of, the vicious attack on the good samaritan Mr. Robert MacKay in front of The Bay the night of the riot,” explains Vancouver Police chief Jim Chu.
Chu thinks this crackdown will keep things safe during the upcoming playoff run, “That’s a high level deterrence for people that think they can be hooligans and commit carnage and mayhem. We are relentless in pursuing those that committed damage last year. That’s a message for anyone else getting the same idea in their head.”
Looking forward, Chu doesn’t expect to have those massive gatherings in the future but rather smaller community-based events.
“We have the plans in place to make sure we have officers deployed in the right places, at the right levels. We’ve also talked to our regional partners to make sure we have a liquor strategy in place,” says Chu. “We have had some large events since June 15th and [that strategy] has been very successful.”
The Vancouver Police Foundation is funding the poster campaign to the tune of $14,000.
Crown approved six more charges against three suspected rioters this morning. Mustafa Khan, 19, from Surrey is charged with participating in a riot and mischief. Vassili Kisselev, 22, from Coquitlam is charged with participating in a riot and break and enter. Also a 17 year old from Burnaby is charged with participating in a riot and break and enter.
The total is up to 177 charges against 67 suspects. To date, the Integrated Riot Investigation Team has recommended 432 criminal charges against 150 suspected rioters.