The first in my series about the international reach of BC gangs/criminal organizations. No paywall on the stories. Thanks to the Lieutenant Governor’s Journalism Fellowship, I was able to visit 6 countries to do research/interviews.
I started
@VancouverSun
on this day 35 years ago! I'm celebrating on vacation in Europe and feel conflicted about NOT being in Vancouver for the end of
#bacontrial
It has been a fun ride despite all the changes in our industry and at our paper.
#bestjobever
#journalismmatters
Woken up at 3:02 am by caller from blocked # - "I just wanted to wake you up Kim."
Me: "Who is this?"
He: "Stop writing about us."
Me: "Don't you need to tell me who you are then?"
A pause, then: "Just wanted to wake you up" and a hang up.
Shocking news out of Surrey - Ripudaman Singh Malik, the man acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing, appears to have been shot to death at his office this morning. Burning car found nearby. Story to come...
Someone who called me tonight about possible fatal shooting said I should retire because I had actually gone to bed before hearing anything!! Isn't it OK to take a night off! How can I predict in advance when something terrible will happen?
@JazzTheJourno
Hi Jasveer - I am a crime reporter for the Vancouver Sun so cover crime in Metro Vancouver/BC and not in Montreal. I have covered the gang conflict since 2007 - it has involved people across BC and of all ethnicities/socio-economic backgrounds over the last 15 years.
More targeting of journalists out doing a job. People obviously don't have to agree with all news stories/journalists, but singling people out, stirring the pot, encouraging hostility towards us and in some cases preventing those in the field from working is NOT acceptable.
To all those who send me emails containing the words "good riddance" in response to fatal shootings, please stop. Families, friends, witnesses are all impacted by gang/gun violence. No one deserves to die like this, regardless of how they live.
First in person 10k run since Turkey Trot 2019. Very fun till hamstring blew up at 8k but still managed to limp across the finish line for this cool medal!!
#eastside10k
My weekend feature for anyone who wants to know more about how hits are being done: full disclosure, the licence plate from my car stolen in July 2017 was found at the farm referenced in this the story...
1) OK went to walk the dog without my phone and came home to this disturbing voicemail: "fucking journalist, you fucking fat donut eating brainwashed cunt. You can't even construct a fucking sentence. You stupid douchebag. Where are your fucking sources from tiktok...
Frustrating that my
@LangaraJSchool
students had to each pay $10 in class today to file
#FOIs
to the BC govt for their investigative reporting projects. How about a student exemption
@jjhorgan
?
Only in BC: Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum charged with public mischief after he claimed his foot was run over by a pro-RCMP campaigner in Sept. His first appearance scheduled for Jan. 25/22.
Six weeks on the road. Six countries with links to Canadian organized crime. Back with my first case of Covid, but madly writing stories now. Stay tuned and happy 2024!
Pleased to announce
@kbolan
, crime reporter with
@VancouverSun
, is the CJF Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, in recognition of her fearless commitment to truth in the face of threats and intimidation.
#cdnmedia
#journalism
And FYI, I plan to block anyone who puts out an unconfirmed or inaccurate victim's name in response to one of my tweets. Things are tense enough out there without incorrect information circulating.
And just to stress again, I am NOT covering the pandemic or the protests. I know colleagues like
@PennyDaflos
and
@keithbaldrey
have had to put up with crap like this for almost 2 years.
Excited to get working on this project come fall! Thanks to
@LGJanetAustin
and the BC Journalism Fellowship for the support to do in depth investigative journalism!
Through the Lieutenant Governor's BC Journalism Fellowship,
@kbolan
has been awarded funds to produce a series of articles on the increasing international tentacles of BC gangs and organized crime groups. Learn more about the Fellowship:
Last evening I was practicing my dance at Alaska Highway. A woman from local Indigenous community saw me and asked if she could join to dance bhangra with me. Dance brings people together, dissolves power-dynamics and creates harmonious cross-cultural friendships.
Went out to buy an actual newspaper today (old-school print reporter habit) & starting talking to the store worker who read this online yesterday and had lots of opinions. It hit me how much people actually like long-form/investigative stories, yet journalism cuts keep coming.
EXCLUSIVE: my deep dive into the murder in Thailand of former BC gangster Jimi Sandhu. I learned of a third suspect linked to the Wolf Pack, found out Sandhu had just been banned from Malaysia and followed the suspects tracks across Phuket.
Letter sent to Sun newsroom on Dec 23, 1997 issuing a death threat against me and Tara Singh Hayer for writing about Ripudaman Malik. Hayer was shot to death 11 months later. No charges laid.
EXCLUSIVE: my deep dive into the murder in Thailand of former BC gangster Jimi Sandhu. I learned of a third suspect linked to the Wolf Pack, found out Sandhu had just been banned from Malaysia and followed the suspects tracks across Phuket.
For those spreading misinformation about the
#AirIndia
case - here is what bombmaker Inderjit Singh Reyat said in his agreed statement of facts from his 2003 guilty plea:
We were all in the newsroom working hard today to tell stories we hope our community cares about. None of us had anything to do with this. If I knew this was being published, I would have said something. And my co-workers would have done so too.
The Vancouver Sun/Province newsroom is one of inclusion & diversity of opinion. It does not tolerate hate, bigotry or small mindedness. I do not endorse any thinking or writing that does. Nor do our reporters/columnists. It was a trashy piece. I’m embarrassed. But it’s not us.
OK - one month into 3-month leave to write a book and finally getting into it! (First I had to paint my office, get/assemble new shelves and just generally procrastinate like a pro!)
Update: I had a great night's sleep with no further calls! Thanks everyone for your support over this harassment! I shared it here to out some of the tactics people use to intimidate reporters. Have a great weekend!
Gentleman caller: Day 2
This time the call came at 2:11 am
He: This is your wake up call Kim
Me: I’m recording this and contacting the police
He: hangs up
Cleaning out the Vancouver Sun desk today - found Bal Buttar murder confession tapes, Jamie Bacon photos sent to me by his friend and stacks and stacks of files. Sigh….
Police confirming Langley shooting suspect is dead and at least two others were killed in the early morning rampage targeting people who are homeless. Others with injuries taken to hospital.
Part 2 of my series on the international links of BC gangsters - once the owner of an Abbotsford restaurant - Khamla Wong is now allegedly operating at the highest level
Almost to the hour 25 years ago, newspaper publisher Tara Singh Hayer was shot to death in the garage of his Guildford home. Hayer, a wheelchair user after an earlier assassination attempt, had just arrived home from his office. No charges still after 1/4 of a century.
Exclusive: Crime reporter
@kbolan
travelled to Thailand to uncover new details about the assassination of UN gangster Jimi Sandhu. Read her story that retraces the steps of the two men accused in the attack and the international team who tracked them:
BC's top cop Asst. Commissioner Dwayne McDonald says it only took RCMP 36 minutes after the fatal Whistler shooting to arrest suspects Tanvir Khakh and Gursimran Sahota.
When your head is always in gangland - minister's rep just told me he got "clipped" and I thought he meant murdered. In fact, clipped is a media interview...sigh
A news cameraman showed up and was immediately swarmed by protestors yelling “lies.” Police intervened quickly. (In Vancouver)
(They had no idea I was a journalist, I’m just using my phone. They ran up to the cameraman as soon as they saw the equipment)
I'm returning to my normal reporter's life today after two months of prep and international travel, a month of writing and three weeks of shameless self-promotion of my 5-part series Lethal Exports (which you can still read here: )
Not talking to anyone specifically - but announcing layoffs without giving any info to people possibly impacted for another week or more is really cruel, unfair, stressful…
This is the saddest news. Shinder Kirk was a wonderful person and one of the best media officers I ever met. Condolences to his family/former colleagues.
The Hells Angels and their associates have been linked to dozens of serious crimes here in BC in recent years including murder. The police/government have called them a criminal organization. That’s why we’re covering this.
@kbolan
This is one the lamest things I've seen a reporter do just sit and give play by play of a party with some Motorcycle enthusiasts... grow up Kim go have a swim.
A lot of media outlets are asking me to go on today to comment about the terrible racist editorial published by The Vancouver Sun (for which an apology has been issued) But today I am in Victoria celebrating my wonderful Irish immigrant mom's 88th birthday!
#celebratediversity
.
@connorharding3
Organize crime doesn’t like scrutiny. I try to give it that scrutiny. Sometimes it’s doing something as simple as tweeting about a live event. Sometimes it’s doing deeper investigations into their activities in the province. I do both. Best to Unfollow me if you don’t like it.
On
#WorldPressFreedomDay
I am thinking about colleagues around the world facing jail or violence for doing their jobs. And even in Canada we have obstacIes to press freedom - media cuts, government secrecy and online harassment - particularly of women journalists.
Gentleman caller: Day 2
This time the call came at 2:11 am
He: This is your wake up call Kim
Me: I’m recording this and contacting the police
He: hangs up
Woken up at 3:02 am by caller from blocked # - "I just wanted to wake you up Kim."
Me: "Who is this?"
He: "Stop writing about us."
Me: "Don't you need to tell me who you are then?"
A pause, then: "Just wanted to wake you up" and a hang up.
Just a reminder that there’s no paywall on these stories. And that some funding for my travel came from the Lieutenant Governor’s Journalism Fellowship.
Part 3 in my series - some of the meth exported by Canadian criminal organizations is having a devastating impact on Fiji where I met users, activists and police. Lethal Exports: How B.C. gangsters are ruining a tropical paradise | Vancouver Sun
Coquitlam RCMP says a crime spree started at a car dealership near Lougheed/Dominion in Poco about 3:40 pm where armed suspects stole a car, exchanged gunfire with police, crashed on Hwy 1.
And to all of you who trashed my tweets condemning vitriol directed at journalists, please talk a look at the tone of your comments. You kind of proved my point.
I'm starting a regular series on unsolved BC murders -this is the first story about the tragic murder of Bikram Randhawa - who was mistaken for someone involved in the gang conflict
#gangviolence
via
@VancouverSun
My five-part series about the international links of Canadian criminal organizations is done, but the links are not: A BC Hells Angel was just indicted in the US with an Iranian drug lord linked to this Dubai murder by 2 BC Brothers Keepers:
Wow, 15 years since Eileen Mohan lost her innocent son Chris in the
#SurreySix
murders and the case is still before the courts. This terrible case is part of the gang book I'm working on.
#gangviolence
#bcjustice
Today Oct 19 15 yrs ago my beautiful son’s innocent life was stolen so horrifically. My Christopher loved life and we loved each other so very much. Oh how I miss him and miss hear him call me “mom”
Also, I had a great book interview today with someone I first met in June 2008 when he helped me after a sketchy encounter with Jamie Bacon's dad David in Abbotsford.
Surrey Six conspirator not getting out at stat release - Notorious B.C. gangster Jamie Bacon denied release, will serve full sentence via
@VancouverSun
Important to take time today to remember the 331 victims of the June 23,1985 Air India terrorist attack - Canada's deadliest (and mostly unresolved) mass murder. There's a memorial at 6:30 in Stanley Park at the Air India memorial overlooking Ceperley Field.
#neverforget
Just a reminder that there is no paywall on my series Lethal Exports, so everyone can read it. And thanks again to the Lieutenant Governor’s Journalism Fellowship for giving me this opportunity to dig deep.
Part 5 in my series where I talk to experts about how we got here - Why Canada is a 'global refuge' for Hells Angels, other crime networks | Vancouver Sun
Just out: Postmedia's five highest-paid executives got $6.46 million in total compensation for fiscal 2020 (including $2.59 million in bonuses).
That's almost as much as they expect from the news bailout for 2019 ($7 million) and about half what they got from CEWS as of Aug. 31.
After taking 5 YEARS (!!) to answer my freedom-of-info request,
@CanRevAgency
has released a secret study confirming millionaire migrants made 90% of lux home purchases in two Metro Vancouver municipalities while declaring refugee-level incomes 2/
21 years ago today, journalist Tara Singh Hayer was assassinated in Surrey. He had agreed to be a witness in the Air India case and had published details of an alleged confession he overheard. His family is still waiting for justice.
Please remember the 331 victims of the June 23, 1985 Air India bombing plot today. This was Canada's deadliest terrorist attack, plotted by the B.C. Babbar Khalsa. Only 1 person has ever been convicted. There is a memorial tonight at 6 p.m. at the memorial in Stanley Park.
Non-HA news in Nanaimo! An artillerary gun became unhitched, was rolling downhill with two miltary guys chasing it and hit a taxi! Passerby said: "try explaining that to ICBC!"
The RCMP has really done a good job to update the public in this murder case. And I say that as someone who has criticized the lack of information-sharing in many other unrelated investigations.
Despite reports - there is no one in custody at this time. RCMP officers remain in the community of York Landing & continue to investigate the reported sighting of the two suspects. All required resources are being used in this ongoing investigation. Updates to follow.
VPD says a suspect in a racially-motivated attack has been identified based on tips from the public. "Police would like to thank the community and partners for their overwhelming support on such a serious, intolerable incident," Sgt. Aaron Roed said. No name released yet.
Eileen Mohan wept outside the courthouse after the sentencing, telling us she felt completely let down by the process. She said Bacon's "rights" were highlighted today, but not those of her "innocent son." Just writing a story now and will post it soon.
News conference over now. A little editorial comment - as police highlight all that they are doing and have been doing, they're not really acknowledging that it's clearly not enough given the escalation in public shootings. A lot of police tell me privately they are frustrated.