Vancouver police target crime group operating from Downtown Eastside hotel, pub

Drugs, guns and cash were seized as part of an investigation into a crime group operating out of an SRO building and its downstairs bar, police said.

A six-week investigation targeting an alleged crime group in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has led to the seizure of $336,000 in illicit drugs and thousands of dollars in stolen property, according to police.

Three men in their 50s were arrested last month as part of the ongoing investigation, the Vancouver Police Department announced in a news release Wednesday. To date, no charges have been laid.

Officers with Task Force Barrage, the police department’s multimillion-dollar operation targeting crime and street disorder in the beleaguered neighbourhood, launched the investigation in August, focusing their efforts on the intersection of Carrall and East Hastings streets.

The department says the intersection, along with nearby Main and East Hastings streets, is home to the highest frequency of violent crime in the city, causing safety concerns for residents and businesses.

Police specifically identified the West Hotel and its pub, at 488 Carrall St., as the base of operations for the alleged criminal network. Police say the group was using several of the single-occupancy rooms to traffic and store drugs, weapons and stolen property.

“Although this hotel is meant for low-income community members, our investigation found that rooms were being rented by organized criminals who don’t even live in the neighbourhood,” said Vancouver police spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison in a statement.

Police executed search warrants in the area on Sept. 25, leading to the seizure of two and a half kilograms of illicit drugs such as fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as $35,000 in cash and $30,000 in stolen clothing and other merchandise.

Investigators also seized a cache of weapons, including knives, real and imitation guns, body armour, bullets and one illegal 50-round drum magazine, police said.

“Despite a drop in violence throughout the Downtown Eastside, there are continued concerns about criminal activity impacting the community,” Addison said.

“As a result of this investigation, we’ve dismantled an organized criminal network that had taken over part of a building meant for low-income residents.”