Three people with addresses in Richmond have been arrested and charged with involvement in a Japanese Yakuza cartel and an organized crime operation with ties to China. During a three-year investigation, the BC RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) team dismantled an international BC-based organized crime network that led to the three Richmond residents being charged with multiple drug and firearms offences. Chun Yu Luk, Shuai Yuan and Ya Bobo Chen reportedly have a criminal associate in Japan who has confirmed ties to Japan’s notorious transnational Yakuza organized crime syndicate. According to police, after an initial shipment of 12 kilograms of methamphetamine to Japan – in containers of protein powder – the BC-based organized crime group sent a seven-kilogram shipment of the same drug to a second criminal of Chinese descent in Tokyo. This triggered a coordinated series of warrant executions and enforcement actions with agencies across Japan and Canada. And with the help of Japan’s Nara Prefectural Police, the Japanese national linked to the Yakuza was arrested and charged with drug importation offences. after that, the Tokyo-based Chinese national suspect attempted to depart from Japan to Hong Kong via Haneda Airport. However, he too was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on charges of drug importation. Richmond residence raided during police investigation In June 2020, the RCMP FSOC then executed a search warrant at a Richmond residence associated with Luk, Yuan, and Chen and seized a variety of drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and MDMA. Police also seized about $100,000 in US and Canadian currency, in addition to a prohibited firearm, two Tasers and a replica pistol. The search also revealed a radio jamming device, in addition to 15 electronic devices that included several cell phones, a laptop and electronic storage devices. “As a major international law enforcement agency with a vast network of domestic and international partnerships, the BC RCMP Federal Policing and its partners work together to protect Canadians and the international community by responding quickly and decisively to the most serious threats posed by transnational organized crime. groups anywhere in the world,” said RCMP Supt. Richard Bergevin, who led the investigation. Luke, Yuan and Chen have been charged with multiple drug-related offenses in addition to numerous firearms offences.
