Calgary Police say the last five years have been a struggle for investigators tracking down the people who pulled the strings in the city’s deadliest gang shootings.

Operation Desino is a massive operation involving dozens of police forces from across the country and has now gathered enough evidence to lay charges against five men, one of which is still on the run.

“Today, we are announcing the arrests of several men whose role in Calgary’s organized crime community led to the death of half a dozen people since 2008,” said Inspector Cliff O’Brian with the Calgary Police Major Crimes Section.

All of the men involved in the crimes are known to police and, in some cases, have been charged several times.

Just one of the men is being sought by police – Timothy Chan.

Chan is wanted in connection with the shooting death of Kevin Steven Anaya, who was killed when he was walking up to a home in the 100 block of Marcombe Dr. N.E. on August 9, 2008.

He is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Police currently have no leads as to his whereabouts and are requesting the public’s help in finding him.

All four of the remaining suspects are currently in police custody, with some of them already serving time for similar crimes.

  • Nicholas Cypui Chan, 35, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and instructing a criminal organization.
  • Nathan Lawrence Zuccerato, 26, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. Zuccerato is currently awaiting a retrial for his previous conviction in the Bolsa shootings on New Year’s Day in 2009.
  • Dustin Duke Darby, 30, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact, and participation in a criminal organization.
  • Van Thoai Luc, 25, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The group of men are all charged in connection with three deadly murders in the City of Calgary since 2008 that left six people dead, two of whom were innocent bystanders with no connection to gang activity.

O’Brien said that, typically, these cases are very difficult to solve. “We need cooperation, not just evidence, but witness cooperation and we typically don’t get them.

“We have, in the past, had been successful in identifying and charging the people who have pulled the trigger but what we’ve never been able to do and struggled with because not having the cooperation from people – we’ve struggled with identifying and charging the people who have pulled the strings.”

O’Brien vows that the Calgary Police will be doing all they can to arrest those responsible for the serious crimes.

“We’re going to show in whatever city you are hanging out in Canada and arrest you.”

Operation Desino is still ongoing and could result in more arrests.