Stock photo (ID 128538675 © Ruben Gasparyan | Dreamstime.com)

By Liam Verster

Fighting Organized Crime

Integrated Gang Homicide Team created to combat organized crime in B.C.

May 9, 2024 | 1:30 PM

Action is being taken to combat organized crime that brings violence and toxic drugs into B.C. communities.

The province is creating a new Integrated Gang Homicide Team (IGHT) in the Lower Mainland to focus on hang-related homicides and improve intelligence co-ordination related to gang activities in order to hold individuals accountable and disrupt gang activity in the region.

“Gang violence and organized crime impacts all of us, and we are co-ordinating with local, provincial and federal agencies to ensure we are taking the right steps to keep people safe and hold those responsible for gang-related activities accountable for their actions,” Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, stated.

“This is a top priority for our government. We are continuing to work alongside our policing partners to curb gang violence, and the development of this team is an important step forward in this collective responsibility.”

The IGHT will be comprised of experts from various agencies including B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (BC-CFSEU), the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia (OCABC) and the RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).

Fire spreads to house

Vernon home "significantly damaged" by grass fire

Apr 02, 2026

Youth Health Services

Youth immunization, sexual health clinic opening in Vernon

Apr 02, 2026

Displaced For A Week

Some residents still displaced from fatal apartment fire

Apr 01, 2026

“For over 20 years, we have utilized an integrated policing approach, successfully investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the most egregious crimes, including members of organized crime groups who have, time and again, neglected public safety in furtherance of their own personal agendas,” Supt. Mandeep Mooker, officer in charge of IHIT, said.

“Now in 2024, as the gang landscape evolves, so must our approach to keeping Canadians safe.”

The province noted gang-related homicides have risen from 21 per cent of killings in B.C. in 2003 to 46 per cent in 2023.

As of last December, IHIT said there were 356 unsolved homicides, and the province stated the new IGHT will strengthen the investigative capabilities so IHIT will be able to better focus on the backlog of cases.

IGHT will have 18 positions, and is expected to reach full operational capacity by late 2024 or early 2025.

The province has received $10.9-million from the federal Government’s Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence, and part of that funding will support the creation of the IGHT with the remaining funds going to support ongoing work by BC-CSFEU, OCABC, and police departments in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.