An investigation that was launched by the Kelowna RCMP back in 2015 and then spanned across the province and into the United States, has put a B.C. Hells Angel behind bars.
Vincenzo James Sansalone of the Hells Angels Haney chapter was recently sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted on various drug charges.
Sansalone was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2023, following a joint Canada-U.S. transnational organized crime investigation conducted by the BC RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime Program (FSOC), and U.S. authorities in San Diego, California and Seattle, Wash.
The lengthy and complex investigation was initially launched by the BC RCMP Kelowna FSOC - Major Projects unit in 2015.
The investigation included undercover operations and wiretaps, according to Cpl. Arash Seyed, FSOC media relations officer.
Investigators arrested the main suspects for conspiracy to import cocaine into Canada from the U.S., as well as production, and trafficking of MDMA.
“BC RCMP FSOC seized 12 kilograms of MDMA and $380,000 in cash, which the suspects intended to use as a down payment for the purchase of 18 kilograms of cocaine,” said Seyed.
Search warrants were executed in March 2018 on multiple residences, and six suspects were arrested. Four of the suspects were charged with various drug-related offences, including Sansalone as well as Daniel James Alexander, Martino Calabretti and Zlatko Garvic.
Alexander, Garvic and Calabretti were charged with conspiracy to import cocaine. While Calabretti and Sansalone were also charged with trafficking in MDMA/MDA.
Alexander was sentenced to serve five years in prison and Garvic was handed a four-year prison sentence on April 27, 2023.
Calabretti’s case is still before the court, and is expected to advance over the coming months, said Seyed.
The BC RCMP FSOC Major Projects program specifically targets organized crime groups whose criminal activities pose a serious threat to Canada, and its international partners.
READ MORE: ‘Violent offender’ with warrants from Kelowna could be in Nanaimo
READ MORE: Man poses as parent, tries to lure child from B.C. daycare: Police