‘Central figure’ in multi-province criminal network arrested in Calgary: police

Editor’s notes: On Dec. 9, 2016, police announced Andrew McGuire —  who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant — had been arrested. Global News has learned that Spencer Allan-Elliott has since pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of an illegal substance; the charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine was withdrawn. The charges against Larissa Cowan were stayed May 3, 2017. 

Calgary police have arrested a man they allege was the central figure in a criminal network that extended from Alberta to B.C. – and also had ties to Manitoba.

Officials said Timothy Varga, 40, turned himself into police on Nov. 21 following a year-long investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).

Varga has been charged with multiple offences, including:

• Instructing a criminal organization
• Committing offences for a criminal organization
• Recruiting members for a criminal organization
• Conspiring to commit an indictable offence
• Cocaine trafficking
• Possession of property obtained by crime
• Firearms charges

The investigation by ALERT focused on a Calgary-based criminal network allegedly operating under Varga’s leadership.

According to police, Varga was the “main target” of the investigation from the start. The goal was to disrupt suspected street-level drug sales.

In total, police laid 111 charges against Varga and nine others, including:

• Andrew McGuire, 41
• Antonio Chavez, 23
• Jason Hamilton, 40
• Larissa Cowan, 25
• Jared Kennedy, 32
• Spencer Allan-Elliott, 26
• Corey DeBakker, 19
• Alex Wawia, 40
• Justine Brind-Suchar, 26

Items seized during the investigation include:

• 147 grams of cocaine
• 26 grams of heroin
• 106 grams of methamphetamine
• 910 morphine pills
• 6 grams of hash oil
• 1.2 kilograms of ketamine
• 14 trazodone pills
• 12 grams of psilocybin
• 14 rounds of ammunition
• Various stolen property
• $10,500 cash

Police said a loaded handgun was seized from Varga’s home, and that his associates were “implicated in multiple offences that included drug and weapons trafficking.”

WATCH: ALERT explains the types of activities the organized crime group was involved in

0:57 ALERT explains crime organization led by Timothy Varga

Varga has a lifetime firearms prohibition from a previous manslaughter conviction. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1999 in connection to the brutal beating of a Stony Plain man. Warren Blaine MacCallum was the victim of a drug-related home invasion on May 2, 1998. Varga was one of four people who came to MacCallum’s home intending to steal marijuana. The group knocked out one of MacCallum’s teeth and Varga beat him with a baseball bat and poked him with a steak knife before trying to tie him up. Varga was sentenced to 14 years in the incident.

WATCH: ALERT speaks to the investigation after 10 arrested in Calgary

2:12 ALERT explains large scale organized crime bust

With files from Erika Tucker