Gurmit Singh Dhak
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Gurmit Singh Dhak | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 September 1978 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | 16 October 2010 (aged 32) Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Occupation | Crime boss |
| Allegiance | Dhak-Duhre group |
Gurmit Singh Dhak (8 September 1978 – 16 October 2010) was a Canadian gangster who served as the co-boss of the Dhak-Duhre group in Vancouver.
Dhak was born in and grew up on the West Side Dunbar area of Vancouver.[1] His parents were Indian immigrants from the Punjab who ran a laundromat.[1] Dhak had become a gangster in grade 8 when he had been greatly impressed by Raymond "Ray" Man Yen Chan of the Lotus gang.[1] Chan owned a red Porsche Carrera and recruited Dhak to work for him as a drug dealer, promising that he would have his choice of girlfriends and a luxury sports car like his own if he worked for him.[1] Dhak proved to be a successful drug dealer and by the time he was in high school, he owned the luxury automobile of his dreams and made enough money to buy his parents a house in Surrey.[1] Dhak also found that as Chan promised him that being a gangster had him very attractive to women.[1] Constable Douglas Spencer of the Vancouver Police Department described Dhak: "He was never disrespectful. He would shoot the breeze...You couldn't imagine that he was a stone-cold killer. Huge drug dealer".[1] Spencer told Kim Bolan, the crime correspondent of The Vancouver Sun newspaper: "His attitude was make money, not war. He was old school. He was well-respected. He didn’t cross people. He just wanted to make money. He was an anomaly, really. None of them are like that now."[2]
In February 1999, Dhak assisted with helping one of his associates kill a 19-year-old rival, Doan Minh Vu.[3] Dhak lowered his window of the car to allow the shooter to open fire.[4] Kenny Cuong Manh Nguyen, the man who killed Vu outside of Madison’s nightclub in Vancouver was convicted of second-degree murder.[5] As part of the investigation of the incident, the police found that Dhak had in his possession a gun that had been used in a gang-related shooting in December 1998.[6] In April 2003, Dhak was convicted in a plea bargain of manslaughter for Vu's killing and was sentenced to 7 years in prison.[4]
In May 2003, Chan was murdered, being found shot dead in an industrial park in Richmond.[1] Chan's murder came as a great shock to Dhak and brought home to him the dangers of the gangster lifestyle.[1] While in prison, Dhak contacted Spencer who remembered: "He told me to go talk to his little brother. He tried to get his brother out of it. He said, 'I'm in too far. I have too enemies'".[7] Dhak was released on parole in 2004.[7] After his release, Spencer met him to warn that a hit squad from Mara Salvatrucha had arrived in Vancouver with the aim of killing him.[7] Dhak told Spencer: "I know. Thanks for telling me, Doug. They've been here for two weeks".[7]
In 2005, Dhak's Lexus SUV was shot up in front of the Uranus Lounge strip-club on East Broadway in Vancouver.[6] Dhak refused to answer any questions about the shooting and was arrested after he threatened to kill one of the investigating officers.[6] On 8 September 2007, while celebrating a birthday party at the posh Quattro on Fourth restaurant in Kitsilano, two masked gunmen marched up to the window and opened fire at the table where Dhak was sitting.[8] Both Dhak and his 21-year-old girlfriend were wounded in the shooting and had to be taken to the hospital.[8] As usual, Dhak refused to answer any questions from the police about the shooting in Kitsilano.[8] Dhak allied himself with the Duhre brothers to form the Dhak-Duhre organization.[9] The three Duhre brothers were Sandip "Dip" Singh Duhre, Balraj Singh Duhre and Paul Singh Duhre.[9] The Duhre brothers had once been part of the Punjabi mafia and worked for Bindy Johal in the 1990s.[9]
Turn against gangsterism
In his last year of his life, Dhak turned against the gangster lifestyle.[10] Dhak contacted the Odd Squad (the youth engagement unit) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about making an anti-gang video for high school students.[11] In a video made in June 2010, Dhak stated the swaggering, macho aggression of the gangsters hid a deep insecurity as he stated that to live the life of a gangster was to live in fear, never knowing when someone would try to kill him and never knowing who to trust.[10] Dhak stated: "...if I could turn back time, I would never do it again. Every day I've got to look over my shoulder; I've got to worry about my family, I've got to worry about, like, if I jump out of my car, am I going to get shot? Or, you know, I could be walking in the mall and walking out and getting shot. I don't know...Oh, I want to get out. But it's too late now to get out. I have too many enemies".[10] Dhak stated: "Deep down inside you are scared. You have got to think every day when you wake up in the morning, 'is this going to be my last day that I am living?'"[7] Dhak ended the video by pleading for high school students not to join gangs, warning that no-one would want to live his lifestyle.[7]