B.C. Hells Angel sentenced to 4 years after cross-border drug investigation begins in Kelowna

A B.C. man with ties to the Hells Angels was sentenced last month to four years in prison on drug charges.

According to court documents and the RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit (FSOC), Vincenzo James Sansalone was charged in 2017 with two counts of drug trafficking following an investigation that spanned Metro Vancouver plus Seattle and San Diego.

Police say the lengthy and complex investigation was launched in 2015 in Kelowna, but quickly extended across multiple Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions.

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“Through the use of numerous advanced investigative techniques, including undercover operations and wiretaps, FSOC investigators were able to gather sufficient evidence to arrest the main suspects for conspiracy to import cocaine into Canada from the U.S., as well as production, and trafficking of MDMA,” said the RCMP.

Police added that during the investigation, they seized 12 kilograms of MDMA and $380,000 in cash, “of which the suspects intended to use as a down payment for the purchase of 18 kilograms of cocaine.”

Search warrants were executed at multiple residences in March 2018, say police, with six suspects being arrested. Four were charged with various drug-related offences: Sansalone, Daniel James Alexander, Martino Calabretti and Zlatko Garvic.

Police said Alexander, Garvic and Calabretti were charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, with Calabretti and Sansalone also being charged with trafficking in MDMA/MDA.

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They also said in addition to Sansalone’s recent sentencing on Dec. 6, Alexander was also sentenced to five years on March 9, with Garvic being handed a four-year sentence on April 27.

Calabretti’s case is still before the court.

RCMP say the FSOC unit “specifically targets organized crime groups whose criminal activities pose a serious threat to Canada, and our international partners.”

“The successful dismantling of this organized crime network,” said RCMP Assistant Supt. Jillian Wellard, “demonstrates the high degree of support and collaboration we receive from, and provide to our domestic, and U.S. law enforcement partners.”