Charges have been laid against eight men in connection to a string of high-profile shootings in the city’s northeast over the last 18 months.
Police say a number of shootings happened between two groups of men connected to the drug trade and organized crime between January 2015 and May 2016.
“It started out as a substantive homicide investigation and then incorporated other aspects of violence and incidents as information came forward through the course of that year and a bit, which ultimately led to charges,” said CPS Insp. Don Coleman of the Major Crimes Section.
Most of the shootings took place in the northeast and police say guns were used to resolve disputes over drugs.
The number of shootings in the city doubled from 2014 to 2015 and investigators say of the 95 shootings last year, more than half were related to organized crime and 15 resulted in homicides.
“This group’s responsible for several shootings, based on the number of attempted murder charges and that’s, simplistically, that number of people have been shot at and they can’t shoot people when they’re in jail, at the end of the day, so the more people that we can put in jail and keep them there, the less you’re going to see rolling around the city. It’s frustrating for investigators to be dealing with the same people all the time and it’s frustrating to be laying more charges related to violence when people are on judicial interim release for other violent offences and recogs for violent offences,” said Insp. Coleman.
The increase is organized crime activity prompted police to launch an investigation and suppression plan.
Last Tuesday, three men were arrested and warrants were issued on three homes in Rundle, Sherwood and Pineridge.
Barakat Amer, 20, of Calgary is charged with:
- Instructing commission of offence for criminal organization
- Instructing an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Eight counts of attempted murder, involving incidents on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015 and Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015
Tarek El-Rafie, 24, of Calgary is charged with:
- Commission of offence for criminal organization
- Commission of an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- 10 counts of attempted murder involving incidents on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015 and Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015
Abdul Rahman Ali Amer, 19, of Calgary is charged with:
- Commission of offence for criminal organization
- Commission of an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Four counts of attempted murder involving incidents on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, and Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015
- Intentionally discharge firearm while being reckless as to the life or safety of another person on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015
Two men who were already in custody were arrested and charged last Thursday.
Talal Mohamad Amer, 23, of Calgary is charged with:
- Instructing commission of offence for criminal organization
- Instructing an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Six counts of attempted murder involving incidents on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015 and Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015
Bader Amer, 21, of Calgary is charged with:
- Commission of offence for criminal organization
- Commission of an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Discharge a firearm with intent to wound involving an incident on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015
- Obstruct justice by disguising a vehicle used in a crime, involving an incident on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015
- Accessory after the fact to murder of David QUACH on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015
Three more men were taken into custody in the early morning hours on Monday.
Haitham Ramadan, 24, of Calgary is charged with:
- Commission of an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Participate in an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Trafficking in a controlled substance – fentanyl
Saro Pireh, 19, of Calgary is charged with:
- Commission of an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Participate in an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
- Trafficking in a controlled substance – fentanyl
Shaheen Assad Pireh, 18, of Calgary is charged with:
- Conspiracy to commit an offence of trafficking
- Participate in an offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization
“We’re hoping to send a message that ‘we’ll catch up to you at some point.’ There’s always information coming forward and people’s level of involvement change, there’s varying degrees of cooperation and multiple investigative strategies that occur over a period of time, that ultimately lead us to where we can lay some charges and hopefully keep some people in jail, which then leads to a reduction in these violent activities that affect public safety,” said Coleman.
Police say the men also face charges in connection with carrying out the shootings in association with a criminal organization and for selling drugs for the benefit of a criminal organization.
The charges, under the Criminal Code, allege the acts of violence were carried out with the knowledge that the organization would benefit from these crimes.
