Latest news with #Driechel
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Edmonton Journal
Extortions exposed: Edmonton police hold town hall on criminals targeting South Asian community
Article content 'Make no mistake, if we close down one avenue, there's another one that usually opens up. So they're always evolving in organized crime, and we have to evolve with that,' said Staff Sgt. Marco Antonio. Article content 'They might be looking to utilize similar techniques, thinking that they'll be luckier.' Article content A popular new U.S.-based phone app, in the cellphones of criminals from as far away as Europe and India, WhatsApp becomes a weapon letting a second string of criminals hide behind anonymity, even as they expose and exploit the personal information of their victims. Article content That meant law enforcement agencies across the country and around the world had to work with technology to go against the perpetrators. Article content Links to Lawrence Bishnoi gang Article content Agencies and multiple levels of governments are seeking new tools to ferret out international actors in the schemes —including seeking a terrorist designation for an organization known as the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, led by a marginally imprisoned kingpin credited with masterminding a criminal network from behind bars in India for more than a decade. Article content Article content The label will provide additional financial and legal avenues for striking back at the shadowy organization which is suspected in Edmonton's investigation. Article content 'We know there is a connection here. We know that our complainants who have come forward have mentioned the name in a couple of the cases, so we're actively working on that part not only with the RCMP, but our ALERT partners too, in Alberta,' Gill said. Article content 'I think what we can say is that we knew that there was communications occurring between the Bishnoi group and some of the individuals involved in the project,' said interim EPS Chief Warren Driechel. Article content 'We don't necessarily know what was being controlled there, but there was definitely communication between the suspects in Project Gaslight.' Article content Those questioning the panel were guaranteed privacy, and that was a top concern for a number of people in the audience Monday. Article content Article content 'I know from a community standpoint, sometimes that trust piece can be difficult, and there could be a variety of different reasons for people not wanting to come forward to police. I get that part,' Gill told the group. Article content 'But if we don't know about it, it becomes incredibly tough to investigate.' Article content With help from the lessons of Project Gaslight, EPS has vowed to break that lucky streak when a high profile individual helped investigators — and the next wave of victims — connect dots more quickly, said Driechel. Article content 'We had the luxury, fortunately, this time, to get on it early. And I think we've actually seen events stopped because of that,' Driechel said. Article content It's important that people feel safe coming forward, Driechel said. Article content 'We know that obviously one of the things is that people fear is retribution. They fear that if they come forward, they may be targeted,' he said. Article content EPS will anonymize information throughout the court process, he said. Article content Dangers to the economy Article content Edmonton-Meadows MLA Jasvir Singh Deol said gang activity is dangerous for Edmonton's economy and business and society in general — and also for youth who are sucked in by criminals offering a promised sense of belonging. Article content In his three decades in Canada, Deol said he's never seen this unique situation. Article content 'The gangs were fighting with each other. It's taken a very different route now, targeting established businesses and really practically coming after them. They're under real threats. They have shootings at their homes, shootings at their businesses,' he said. Article content The EPS town hall was needed for the community to feel safe, he said. Article content Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the South Asian community has contributed much to the prosperity and vibrancy in Canada. Article content Article content 'I have seen South Asian communities stepping up to make our country a better place, and it is so unfortunate that South Asian community, at this time, particularly South Asian businesses, are living under fear. They're facing extortion. They're facing threats from organized crime, mostly connected to international organized crime, and we have a responsibility to support them,' he said. Article content Article content
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Yahoo
Albuquerque police host visit from Edmonton police, talk tips on fighting crime
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It's a unique partnership. A Canadian police department is turning to Albuquerque police for tips on solving crimes faster, while the Albuquerque Police Department is turning to them for help tackling our homeless problem. Story continues below DWI Scandal: Another BCSO deputy placed on leave in connection to DWI dismissals Entertainment: Visit these 10 iconic film locations in New Mexico Events: What's happening around New Mexico March 14-20 'There's an open willingness across different organizations to work together. We all recognize the challenges are similar,' said interim chief of Edmonton police, Warren Driechel. Albuquerque police invited the police chief from Edmonton, the capital of Alberta in Canada, for a meeting to exchange ideas on how police do their work. The Edmonton chief was looking for tips on using technology to fight crime, something APD is known for. The Edmonton team toured APD's Real Time Crime Center, a staple in the department's toolkit that has helped solve hundreds of crimes. 'So we've got some really great technology. How do we optimize that? And those are the things that we can share back and forth together,' said Chief Driechel. Chief Driechel added that he learned a thing or two from APD on how to piece together crimes faster. 'They're aggregating all that data together. So very quickly, you can do a search and you're getting a return back from multiple data sources. So that creates a ton of time savings as well as an effectiveness in terms of the members getting the information or the police officers getting the information sooner to be able to react,' said Chief Driechel. In exchange, APD turned to Edmonton police for help handling the homeless. 'And so where we had hundreds and literally thousands of kind of encampment complaints we've reduced that to almost none. And so the real benefit of that is from a public perception piece, less encampments, less disorder, but less people were being harmed that were living in those encampments,' said Chief Driechel. He said Edmonton, with double the population of Albuquerque, still faces the same kind of calls. 'What might be interesting to the community is the problems that law enforcement faces nationally and internationally, is almost the same,' said Deputy Chief of Albuquerque Police Cecily Barker. APD announced earlier this year that crime is down across the city, crediting the work of its officers and the technology like the Real Time Crime Center. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
