Crime crackdown
Asian gangs dealt heavy blow
By CARY CASTAGNA, POLICE REPORTER


It's believed to be the largest crackdown on Asian-based organized crime
and cocaine trafficking in Manitoba -- and police say it has dealt a heavy
blow. A 20-month joint-forces operation dubbed "Project Demobilize"
culminated yesterday morning as 150 officers with the RCMP, Winnipeg police
and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency swooped down on 18 locations across
Winnipeg and arrested 20 people.

Suspects, whose names are expected to be released today, face numerous
charges, including trafficking cocaine and commission of an offence for a
criminal organization.

"It has significantly disrupted Asian-based organized crime," said RCMP
spokesman Sgt. Steve Saunders. 

. . .

 One of the raids occurred in a two-story home at 408 Alexander Ave. on the
edge of Chinatown.

Resident Jennifer Tat, 17, said her family was woken up shortly after 5
a.m. when nearly a dozen cops bust through their two front doors.

"We thought someone was robbing our house," Tat recalled. "We didn't know
what was going on."

Tat and six family members were ordered into the living room, while police,
armed with a warrant, searched the home, emptying dressers and drawers.

"They took some files from my dad's briefcase, cheque books, cellphone
bills -- any transactions," she said. "They took my computer -- they just
wanted to look for files. And they took my modem."

Tat estimates police took about five hours to scour the house, the garage
and the family's vehicles.

"They just made a big mess, and I have to clean it up," she said.

Police didn't seize any drugs but confiscated a wad of cash estimated to be
about $5,000, Tat said. 

. . .

[Full report at 
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2003/11/06/247974.html]




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