VANCOUVER, BC: Not long ago, you’d find your date for Valentine’s Day the old-fashioned way – by phoning or asking someone directly.
Today, dating apps are what millions are using to connect, so with that in mind Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers used a dating app theme to unveil this year’s list of B.C.’s six “most wanted” criminals and suspects who remain on the lam this Valentine’s Day.
These “Least Wanted Valentines” could be far away, or right in your neighbourhood. Think: “swipe left” and call Crime Stoppers.
One of them, Amit Kumar Mehmi, an Indo-Canadian truck driver from Surrey fled to India after being sentenced to 15 years for smuggling cocaine into Canada from the United States. Mehmi was sentenced in 2017 to serve a total of 15 years in prison for smuggling 80 kilograms of cocaine into BC, through the Canada-U.S. Pacific Highway border crossing.
Mehmi was initially arrested by the BC RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) – Waterfront Joint Force Operation unit (WJFO) on November 6, 2017, after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) discovered 80 sealed bricks of cocaine hidden inside a semi-trailer truck being driven, and owned by Mehmi. At the time of this seizure, the bulk street value of the cocaine was estimated at $3.2 million.
Mehmi was charged under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. On September 6, 2022, a Supreme Court Judge found Mehmi guilty on both charges, and a sentencing hearing was scheduled for January 9, 2023.
The police informed that on October 11, 2022, Mehmi fled to India after boarding a flight from Vancouver, BC, and arriving in New Delhi the following day.
“We’re not suggesting you’ll actually find these six ‘valentines’ on a dating app,” said Linda Annis, Executive Director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers. “But we thought presenting BC’s most wanted this way might help everyone take notice and remember their faces in case you actually spot them somewhere, or if you know how police can find them.
“Our ‘valentines’ this year are wanted for serious crimes ranging from murder, drug and firearms offences, to fraud and kidnapping,” Annis said. “Someone, somewhere knows where these people are and we’re urging them to do the right thing and call Crime Stoppers ANONYMOUSLY.”
Tips to Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and charge of any wanted criminal can lead to a reward of up to $5,000, and in the case of fugitive Cody Casey, a reward of up to $100,000 reward has been posted by the BOLO (“be on the lookout” ) program and Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers.
“Anonymous tips do work,” Annis adds. “Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers received more than 4,100 anonymous tips in 2023. Your anonymity is guaranteed by the Supreme Court of Canada. You’ll never be questioned or called to testify.”
