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2 stouffville suntribune thursday feb 26 2004 publication mail agreement 40007673 fftways you dont have to be on the street are you 1519 years old and need a place to stay while you sort things out contact us at pathways at 9054717877 this message brought to you as a community serv ice of ttie economists sunsuntribune help us fight organized police say by jeff mitchell staff writer police in york region are struggling to keep up with an everexpanding wave of organized crime the police services board heard yesterday you can only be so efficient and were bound by resources insp randy home said 1 our challenges are only going to get greater hasp horne of the forces investiga tive services unit outlined for board members a web of crime that extends to all corners of the planet and is increasingly infringing upon everyday life here he outlined how gangs with ties in asia italy eastern europe and north america have established a foothold and staked their claim in york region those criminal enterprises are evi dent in rising incidents of marijuana cultivation prostitution car theft and peripheral crimes including murder in burgeoning york insp horne said and criminals will continue to thrive here as long as it pays he said any organized crime is profit driven his report prompted board member bob callow to call for support for more officers the police budget sent to regional council earlier this month seeks 110 new cops and proposes to increase spending by 26 million to 140 million markham mayor don cousens chairperson of the regions finance committee has rejected the increase as too steep the region has yet to make a final decision on the police budget mr callow said plans for stepped- up hiring are designed to address issues such as increased activity by organized criminals the reason we put this hiring plan forward is that we see these chal lenges ahead mr callow said its disturbing to see the material growth of these criminal organiza tions in our communities g at stouftviiie coops entory clearance epe to johnny bower toronto maple leafs authentic autographed hockey jersey with certificate of authenticity 2 official nhl pucks autographed by bobby hull with certificate of authenticity pius many more in store specials the sale you dont want to miss up to clothing mon hard wear and gift ware hours sale runs from fri 8 6 sat 85 fgl feb 19th feb 28th sun closed ie stouffville location only stouffville 47 edward street 640155018003552168 are we winning the war do we have enough resources to do that insp horne identified a number of groups responsible for the majority of the regions organized crime activity they include asian gangs whose primary activ ities are marijuana grow operations and body rub parlours that act as fronts for prostitution theyre also known for loan sharking counterfeiting and extortion although grow operations are under taken by many criminal organizations the market in york region is dominated by the asians insp horne said much of that dope winds up in the us eastern european gangs many of whom are young men with military experience they specialize in car theft bank and credit card fraud and identity theft insp horne said what were finding in york region is this group is very organized very aggressive in the pursuit of money and not intimidated by law enforce ment outlaw biker gangs who deal in drugs prostitutes intimidation and other illegal activities often in cahoots with traditional mob figures bikers such as the hells angels which absorbed smaller ontario gangs a few years back are fiercely protective of their turf and have been known to engage in wars with rival gangs the angels have chapters in keswick and woodbridge a rival gang the bandidos made its presence known in canada by banding with angels archenemies the rock machine a few years back weve got six of them bandidos in york region it has the potential for a problem insp horne said york regional police continue to work in conjunction with other police forces and intelligence agencies to monitor organized crime and potential terrorist activity insp horne said ccxt theatres of uxbrjdge call 852roxy 7699 for shows times wwwrbxvtheatrescom newmarkets largest international psychic expo 8s readers books crystals lectures demonstrations friday 12 pm 10 pm saturday 11 am 10 pm sunday 11 am 7 pm march 5 6 7 newmarket community centre downtown wwwpsychicexposcom for free stuff