Longtime Hells Angel gunned down outside Burlington restaurant
Halton police responded to reports a man had been shot at an address on Fairview Street around 8:30 p.m., they said. He was taken to hospital, where he later died.
Police described the shooting as targeted.
The Star has learned the victim was Oakville Hells Angel Craig (Truck) McIlquham.
McIlquham was known to Canadian police for decades in connection with big-money crimes, including a bust called Project Hobart, alleging a multimillion-dollar international gambling ring in 2019.
Craig (Truck) McIlquham
McIlquham was charged with a dozen offences, including possession of a restricted weapon, bookmaking and commission of an offence for a criminal organization.
The investigation was spurred by an escalation of violent crimes across Ontario, including attempted murders, arson, extortion and threats, police said.
Police said at the time the Hells Angels were working in the gambling ring with a York Region-based 'ndrangheta Mafia group.
Gamblers were allowed credit limits as high as $20,000, but they were also expected to settle debts within a week, police said.
The gambling operation used five different websites to pull in $131 million in illegal revenues over five years, police said. The groups also operated a gaming house in Mississauga, police said.
In making the Project Hobart arrests, the OPP announced they had seized more than $12 million in assets, including sports cars, two golf carts, seven residences, nine illegal handguns, jewelry valued at approximately $300,000, $330,000 in precious metals, $1.2 million in financial accounts and approximately $1.7 million in cash.
In total, police announced 228 related charges against 28 people from across the province and in Oka, Que.
The Project Hobart case was ultimately dropped because of court delays. The Crown said that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the delays in the complex case, as well as 'voluminous' amounts of disclosure documents, prosecutors said, praising the Ontario Provincial Police for conducting a 'thorough and effective investigation.'
McIlquham's lawyer, Craig Bottomley, declined to comment, on this week's shooting.
Another police subject in Project Hobart, was Niagara Hells Angel Michael (Diaz) Deabaitua-Schulde, who was killed in broad daylight on March 11, 2019, after leaving a Mississauga gym. He was shot at close range.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Georgia man may have tried to enter CDC campus two days before he attacked agency
NEW YORK -- The Georgia man who shot at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention buildings on Aug. 8 apparently tried to enter the campus two days earlier but was turned away by security, according to an internal CDC email. Security video indicates 'a very high likelihood' that the 30-year-old shooter — Patrick Joseph White — tried to enter the campus on the late afternoon of Aug. 6, the email said. 'The video evidence does not 100% confirm the person's identity' but law enforcement thinks it was White, according to the email sent to CDC employees on Thursday. 'The probing of a site is a common practice for individuals planning to engage in violent acts,' Jeff Williams of the CDC's security office wrote in the email. The Associated Press viewed a copy of the email, which was first reported on by Stat News. White blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. On Aug. 8, he opened fire from a spot at a pharmacy across the street from CDC's main entrance. He killed a police officer and fired more than 180 shots into CDC buildings before killing himself. No one at CDC was injured. Williams, in his email, said: 'Due to our existing security protocols, the shooter did not attempt to enter campus on Friday, August 8, prior to the attack.' A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the investigation is active and ongoing. "We have no further information to release at this time,' said the spokesperson, Sara Lue. ___ AP reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
US Citizen Says She Was Detained by CBP for 3 Days After Wrong Turn
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Kristina Ramirez, a U.S. citizen living in Chicago, says she was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in May for three days after she and her husband made a wrong turn in Michigan and ended up near the Canadian border. Her husband, who is originally from Mexico, has been living in the Chicago area for two decades and has a pending U.S. visa application, according to local news stations ABC 7 and CBS News Chicago. Newsweek reached out to CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) via email and Ramirez via LinkedIn message for comment. Why It Matters Ramirez's detention and subsequent release come amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, the president having pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in United States history. Immigrants residing in the country both illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, as well as those with criminal histories, have been detained. Many with past convictions, even from decades ago, have found themselves in ICE custody despite spending years without facing serious immigration problems. Some U.S. citizens have reportedly been swept up in immigration efforts as well. What To Know Ramirez told local outlets that she and her husband, Sergio Serna Ramirez, were on a business trip in Michigan when they accidentally turned the wrong way and were stopped by CBP agents at the Canadian border. At a Wednesday community event calling for her husband's release, Ramirez said their lives "are being derailed because we took one wrong turn." On May 28, the couple was stopped by CBP and taken into custody. Ramirez, who is a U.S. citizen, says she was held for three days, while her husband was detained and then transferred to an ICE facility. According to the local outlets, he is currently held in a detention center at Monroe County Jail in Michigan. Ramirez said that CBP told them at the time of their detention that "we're going to let him out in 48 hours," ABC 7 reported. File photo: CBP agents hold a news conference at a detention facility in Donna, Texas, on May 2, 2019. File photo: CBP agents hold a news conference at a detention facility in Donna, Texas, on May 2, 2019. AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) What People Are Saying Kristina Ramirez said on Wednesday: "My husband is not a murderer, my husband is not a criminal. My husband is a very loving and good person. I just am very upset, outraged by the injustice in this world. It just wrong how they have him there." Ed Yohnka, director of Communications and Public Policy for ACLU of Illinois, said during a community event on behalf of Sergio's release on Wednesday: "This is a human tragedy about one family but is also an example of system that has run amok." What Happens Next Ramirez is working with local community members to try to get her husband out of ICE custody. He is reportedly awaiting a final court hearing next week.
CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
Florida Turnpike U-turn crash that killed 3 fuels immigration fight between Govs. DeSantis and Newsom
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis dispatched his top deputy to California to oversee the handover of a truck driver accused of making an illegal U-turn that killed three people in Florida last week. Sending his newly appointed lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, underscores Republicans' push to crack down on illegal immigration. It also revs up a political rivalry between DeSantis and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, both of whom aspire to higher office. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Monday that truck driver Harjinder Singh, a native of India, was in the country illegally. "Three lives lost because of Gavin Newsom. Because of California's failed policies," Collins said Thursday at a press conference near an airport in Stockton, California. "We're done with that," Collins added, using an expletive. A spokesperson for Newsom described Collins' trip to California as a "photo op" and criticized Florida officials for letting a "murder suspect walk." Collins did not elaborate on why Singh was able to fly to California after the Aug. 12 crash on Florida's Turnpike. U.S. Marshals arrested him Saturday in Stockton. Singh made the illegal turn on the highway about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A minivan in the neighboring lane was unable to avoid the truck's trailer and slammed into it, killing the minivan's driver and two passengers. Singh and a passenger in his truck were not injured. Florida authorities said Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018. According to Homeland Security, Singh obtained a commercial driver's license in California, which is one of 19 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that issue licenses regardless of immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center. Collins said Thursday that Singh never should have been issued a driver's license, calling the move "unacceptable." Collins said Singh lacks basic English proficiency and did not know the road signs. Newsom's press office responded on the X platform that Singh obtained a work permit while Donald Trump was president. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin disputed that, saying the federal government denied him a permit during Trump's first term in September 2020 and granted him one in June 2021, under President Joe Biden. Singh is charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. The federal government has asked that he be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after his criminal case is complete. A public defender assigned to Singh's case did not respond to a request for comment.
