Canadian accused of killing Indian-origin gangster extradited to Thailand
Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 May, 2023 01:23 PM
Toronto, May 31 (IANS) A former Canadian soldier and alleged hitman has been extradited to Thailand where he has been charged with the murder of an Indian-origin gangster in Phuket last year, media reports said.
Matthew Dupre, 38, who allegedly gunned down Jimi 'Slice' Sandhu in February 2022, arrived in Bangkok on a special air force flight on Sunday night, The Bangkok Post reported.
Sandhu, who grew up in Abbotsford, was connected to the United Nation Gang, which was founded in the Fraser Valley in 1997.
On February 11, 2022, the Phuket court issued a warrant for the arrest of Dupre and his alleged accomplice on charges of premeditated murder, having guns and ammunition in possession without permission and illegally carrying and using the guns in public.
A police investigation later found the two suspects left Thailand for Canada on February 6, the report said.
Dupre was arrested on February 20, 2022 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at his home in Sylvan Lake, Alberta.
His extradition was approved last December by the Court of Alberta, Edmonton, under the 1999 Extradition Act of Canada.
The second wanted suspect killer in the case died in a small-plane crash in Canada in May 2022.
Dupre denied all the charges against him, media reports said citing police officials.
The suspect was arrested shortly after noon near Hwy 1 on the Clearbook Rd exit in Abbotsford. The two victims were transported by ambulance to a local area hospital. Both have non-life threatening injuries.
Jongwon Ham appeared virtually in court on Wednesday after a significant delay wearing a red shirt, a beard and his black hair reached past his shoulders. Ham was ordered remanded until Nov. 24 while he worked on getting a lawyer. The 37-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang.
The incident happened on October 27 at around 7:30 p.m., after security for Hotel Georgia asked the suspect, who was loitering in the breezeway of the hotel, to leave the area. The suspect pulled a knife from his jacket and approached the security guard.
RCMP say the human remains were discovered last month in Connaught Hill Park. Police say with the help of the BC Coroners Service, it was able to identify the remains as those of Donna Charlie, who was killed in 1990.
On November 10, 2022, 38 year-old Nicholas Sullivan was charged with five counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm through social media. He is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
"Everything we discuss has been leaked to the paper; that's not appropriate," Xi told Trudeau through an interpreter who was with Xi when the pair met at an event during the G20 summit.
