A property in Maple Ridge and one in Langley that were allegedly used in a dial-a-dope drug trafficking operation, are now part of a civil forfeiture case before the Supreme Court of British Columbia involving a dead gangster.
On Oct. 26, 2022, police simultanously raided a condo unit in Langley and a brand new townhouse unit in Maple Ridge, where they discovered cash, tablets, several high-end watches and jewellery worth up to $95,000 each. Now the Director of Civil Forfeiture is trying to seize a $1.6 million house in Richmond, and four vehicles, allegedly bought with the drug money and linked to two brothers, identified by police as gangsters, one of whom was recently murdered.
Since Jan. 13, 2022, the property on Fraserbank Crescent in Richmond, has been owned by one of the defendants named in the court documents as Priya Kaur Sandhu, an owner of convenience for Ravinder Samra, who is considered to be the “true” owner of the property.
Court documents claim that Ravinder and his brother Amarpreet Samra were operating a dial-a-dope drug trafficking operation by October 2022, and laundered the money from their operation through the property in Richmond. They also used: a 2019 Dodge Ram 1500 whose registered owner was Amarpreet Samra, a 2018 Mazda CX-9 whose registered owner is Ravinder Samra, a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee whose registered owner is Christa Lin Byrd, who, documents claim, was an “owner of convenience” on behalf of Amarpreet; and a 2014 BMW X5 whose registered owner is Jennifer Lee Wood, also on behalf of Amarpreet, who, the document claims is the “true” owner of the vehicle.
All four vehicles were seized by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team on Oct. 26, 2022.
On that same date in 2022, a raid at a property at 205-8447B 202 Street in Langley, Amarpreet’s residence, discovered: $2,370 Cdn in cash; a money counter; three “TEC” tablets; three bottles containing unnamed tablets; an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch with a value between $50,000 to $95,000; a diamond neck chain with a value between $50,000 and $95,000; a Breitling 1884 watch; four diamond studs; a white gold ring; four B.C. license plates and one Manitoba license plate that were not registered to anyone inside Samra’s residence; the jeep and the BMW.
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A raid at 23-23108 Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge also uncovered items the document claims the Samra brothers used for their drug trafficking operation and other valuables including: $9,135 Cdn in cash and $108 in U.S. cash; 56 “TEC” tablets; an Apple iPhone; a contact list; white gold and diamond studs; the Dodge and the Mazda.
It doesn’t appear that criminal charges were laid against the Samra brothers following the raids.
All five people are listed as defendents in the Notice of Civil Claim, although Amarpreet Samra was shot and killed leaving a wedding reception in Vancouver at the end of May.
The Director of Civil Forfeiture is claiming the property in Richmond and the four vehicles are the proceeds of the brother’s criminal acivities and were used by the defendants for their operations including the possession for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking controlled substances; the possession of the proceeds of crime; the laundering of proceeds from their drug trafficking operation; and a failure to declare taxable income.
And there is concern by the Director of Civil Forfeiture that the Richmond property is likely to be used for unlawful activity in the future.
The B.C. government wants the property, the vehicles, and their proceeds, including any interest to be forfeited to them, including interest from the sale of the property, in addition to any proceeds from the sale of the four vehicles, including interest – in addition to costs.
Under the Civil Forfeiture Act, the director of civil forfeiture is allowed to start legal proceedings against property linked to criminal activity, which can proceed even if a person or persons were not charged or if charges were stayed, or if there was an acquittal.
CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said his organization was not involved in the raids in Langley or Maple Ridge.
“It doesn’t seem that CFSEU-BC has any connection to what’s discussed in the CSO filing,” he said.
The News has also reached out the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team for more information.
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