Wolfpack Alliance

Origins and Structure

The Wolfpack Alliance was founded in 2010 in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia as a side project by Hells Angels member Larry Amero. The consortium's other initial leaders were Jonathan Bacon of the Red Scorpions gang and Randy Naicker and James Riach of the Independent Soldiers. Police and journalists have described the Wolfpack not as a single, monolithic group but as a loosely allied consortium that united several organized crime factions. The group's early public visibility came from Bacon being frequently seen with Amero on the latter's speedboat, named Steroids & Silicone. The alliance's core business from the outset was acting as distributors for cocaine supplied by Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, then led by Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán.

This multi-ethnic network expanded rapidly, incorporating members from across Canada. Key early additions included the Alkhalil family, Toronto figure Johnny Raposo, Martino 'Lil Guy' Caputo from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Montreal's Shane 'Wheels' Maloney of the West End Gang, and drug smuggler Nick Nero from Niagara Falls. Nabil Alkhalil served as the liaison with the Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico. The group's leaders communicated using encrypted texts on the Pretty Good Privacy system, where they discussed plans openly, including for murders. Journalist Peter Edwards described the Wolfpack leaders as craving attention and displaying a sense of entitlement, bonding more through internet connections than geographic proximity.

The Vancouver Gang War and Key Murders

The murder of Gurmit Singh Dhak, co-boss of the Dhak-Duhre gang, on October 16, 2010, in Burnaby ignited a prolonged gang war in British Columbia. Dhak's brother, Suhhveer 'Sukh' Dhak, believed the Wolfpack was responsible and hired a hit team to hunt them. This conflict escalated dramatically on August 14, 2011, with the murder of Wolfpack co-founder Jonathan Bacon outside the Delta Grand Hotel in Kelowna. A masked squad fired at least 30 rounds from AK-47 assault rifles into a Porsche Cayenne, killing Bacon, wounding Larry Amero, and leaving waitress Leah Hadden-Watts a quadriplegic. Following this, Amero relocated to Montreal, staying in Rabih Alkhalil's condo and tightening connections with Mexican cocaine suppliers.

The United Nations gang aligned with the Dhak-Duhre group against the Wolfpack, leading to a series of retaliatory killings. Sandip 'Dippy' Duhre was murdered on January 17, 2012, in a revenge attack for the Kelowna shooting. United Nations leader Thomas Gisby was murdered at a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, on April 28, 2012, with a Wolfpack member claiming credit via text. Randy Naicker was shot dead outside a Port Moody Starbucks on June 25, 2012. Suhhveer Dhak and his bodyguard Thomas Mantel were murdered on November 19, 2012. Between 2010 and 2013, police linked at least 20 murders in the Lower Mainland to the war started by Dhak's killing. The violence continued into 2013 with the murders of Manjot Singh Dhillon, Manjinder 'Manny' Singh Hairan, and Craig Widdifield, a friend of Amero.

National Drug Smuggling Operations

The Wolfpack Alliance established sophisticated drug smuggling operations in multiple Canadian regions, moving beyond its British Columbia origins. In Montreal, the group leveraged the city's strategic port and proximity to New York City. Operating with an estimated 400 kilograms of cocaine smuggled per month, the Montreal wing was managed by Frédéric Lavoie and Timoleaon Psiharis, who answered to Amero and Alkhalil. They bribed truck drivers from bonded companies to move cocaine in secret compartments. The Wolfpack's connection to the West End Gang, which controls the Port of Montreal, was crucial, with Shane Maloney providing chemists to test drug purity.

In the Niagara region, Nick Nero became a major cocaine smuggler, bringing an average of 400 kilograms per week into the Niagara Peninsula via boats and trucks. A police investigation, Project Ink, led to the seizure of 110 kilograms of cocaine worth $30 million from a St. Catharines warehouse linked to Nero in February 2012. Nero's ambitions were global, as revealed in his encrypted texts. He discussed smuggling cocaine via Air Canada into Toronto, explored routes into the United Kingdom where profits were double, and inquired about corrupt aircrews for shipments to Shanghai. His communications also involved plans to use the Port of Vancouver with bodybuilder Mohammed Reza Amin Torabi.

• Montreal Hub: Moved about 400 kg of cocaine monthly via port and trucking networks.
• Niagara Hub (Nero): Moved about 400 kg of cocaine weekly via boats and trucks.
• West Coast Connection: Exploited Port of Vancouver for potential shipments.
• International Ambitions: Actively plotted expansion into UK and Chinese markets.

High-Profile Crimes and Police Investigations

The alliance's activities sparked several major police investigations across Canada. Project Ink targeted Nick Nero's Niagara operation, leading to his arrest on May 23, 2012. His arrest was facilitated by a critical security lapse where Nero had written his PGP encryption email and password on a sticky note found by police. This breach allowed authorities to access the group's encrypted communications. The Sinaloa Cartel reportedly lost confidence in the Wolfpack's competence after this incident. Nero's fiancée, Tawnya Del Ben Fletcher, was arrested the same day and found with $1 million in cash, luxury assets, and a $750,000 engagement ring.

Project Loquace in November 2012 led to the arrest of 103 Wolfpack members in Montreal based on a wire worn by an informer. More recent investigations demonstrate the group's ongoing national reach. Project Divergent, a years-long international drug investigation beginning in Manitoba, resulted in charges against 22 people in 2022. It targeted networks moving drugs from Mexican cartels into Manitoba, seizing 110 kg of cocaine, 41.4 kg of methamphetamine, 3 kg of fentanyl, and firearms. A key figure, Denis Ivziku, was arrested in Cancún, Mexico, on May 14, 2025, and faces extradition. Project Puma, concluded in 2024 to 2025, was dubbed Manitoba's largest drug bust, seizing over 500 kg of drugs valued at over $37 million and arresting 33 people. Police stated the network had connections to the Hells Angels, Wolfpack Alliance, and Mexican cartels.

The Murder of Johnny Raposo

A personal conflict within the alliance led to the murder of Toronto member Johnny Raposo in 2012. Raposo and Martino Caputo, who were supposed to be best friends, were both having an affair with the same waitress. Caputo, using Nick Nero as an intermediary, began promoting the idea that Raposo was a police informant to Rabih Alkhalil. The three men, Caputo, Alkhalil, and Nero, were planning a $5 million cocaine shipment from Mexico via Chicago with Raposo. They conspired to kill him to take his share of the profits.

Caputo provided Alkhalil's preferred hitman, Dean Michael Wiwchar, with photos of Raposo, his address, and details of his favourite coffee shop, the Sicilian Sidewalk Café. Alkhalil offered Wiwchar $100,000 for the hit, which Wiwchar accepted on May 21, 2012, texting 'Ice cream boy is getting it.' After Nero's arrest on May 23, Wiwchar flew to Toronto and stalked Raposo in the Bloor West Village neighbourhood. Unaware of the plot, Raposo told his common-law wife he planned to visit Montreal to resolve issues with the distant Wolfpack leaders. On June 18, 2012, Wiwchar shot and killed Raposo at the Sicilian Sidewalk Café. On May 11, 2017, Wiwchar, Caputo, Alkhalil and Nero were all found guilty of first-degree murder for Raposo's killing and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Wolfpack in Canada's Synthetic Drug Crisis

The Wolfpack Alliance is a significant player within Canada's broader organized crime landscape, which includes over 4,000 groups, most involved in illicit drugs. These groups have adapted to the synthetic drug crisis, importing pre-made drugs and precursor chemicals to produce fentanyl and methamphetamine domestically. The alliance's convergence with groups like the Hells Angels and Mexican cartels, as seen in Project Puma, allows for expanded trade and resource sharing. One group may provide precursors and money laundering while another handles production and distribution.

Law enforcement and analysts note that this collaboration facilitates the spread of highly toxic synthetics like fentanyl, benzodiazepines, and nitazenes from major cities into rural and Indigenous communities. The profits from this billion-dollar industry fund other criminal activities and entrench organized crime in communities. The trafficking cycle contributes to a public health crisis, with Health Canada reporting that between 2018 and 2022, over 40% of overdose deaths involved cocaine laced with fentanyl. The national opioid toxicity death rate is approximately 18 deaths per day.

Recent Developments and Ongoing Influence

The Wolfpack Alliance remains an active concern for Canadian law enforcement. The 2025 arrest in Mexico of Denis Ivziku, a fugitive linked to the alliance and brother-in-law to convicted Hells Angel and Wolfpack member Damion Ryan, shows its international connections. Ivziku is charged in connection with Project Divergent, where evidence showed he supplied an agent with 32 kilograms of meth, over a kilogram of fentanyl, and 1.5 kilograms of cocaine in 2021 and 2022. Ryan was convicted in December 2024 of conspiracy charges related to directing a high-level drug organization within the Wolfpack network.

In June 2023, Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia stated the Wolfpack has had significant controlling influence over the Downtown Eastside drug trade for several years. Analysts point to the convergence of the Hells Angels, Wolfpack Alliance, and Mexican cartels as a troubling evolution in Canada's organized crime landscape. This collaboration allows for sophisticated, large-scale importation and distribution networks using commercial transport, mail services, and vehicles with hidden compartments. The alliance's model, a tech-savvy, multi-ethnic consortium without rigid geographic ties, exemplifies how modern organized crime groups operate across provincial and national borders, exploiting Canada's infrastructure to feed the illicit drug market.

Questions about Wolfpack Alliance

What is the Wolfpack Alliance?

The Wolfpack Alliance is a Canadian organized crime consortium, not a single gang, formed in 2010. It united members from various established groups like the Hells Angels, Red Scorpions, and Independent Soldiers into a multi-ethnic, geographically dispersed network. The alliance primarily distributed cocaine from Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel but has expanded into trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl. Its members are often described as millennial-aged and connected more through internet communication than traditional geographic turf.

Who were the founders of the Wolfpack Alliance?

The Wolfpack Alliance was founded in 2010 in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia by Hells Angels member Larry Amero as a side project. The other founding leaders were Jonathan Bacon of the Red Scorpions gang and Randy Naicker and James Riach of the Independent Soldiers. The first public evidence of the group's existence was Bacon often being seen with Amero on Amero's speedboat, named Steroids & Silicone. This group initially worked as distributors for cocaine from Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.

What was the Wolfpack Alliance gang war in British Columbia?

A violent gang war erupted after the murder of Dhak-Duhre gang co-boss Gurmit Singh Dhak in October 2010, which his associates blamed on the Wolfpack. It escalated with the brazen murder of Wolfpack co-founder Jonathan Bacon in Kelowna in August 2011. This triggered a cycle of retaliatory killings involving the Wolfpack, the Dhak-Duhre group, and the United Nations gang. Between 2010 and 2013, at least 20 murders in the Lower Mainland were linked to this conflict.

How did the Wolfpack Alliance smuggle drugs?

The alliance used multiple sophisticated smuggling methods tailored to different regions. In Montreal, they exploited the port and bribed truck drivers from bonded companies to move cocaine in hidden compartments, smuggling an estimated 400 kilograms per month. In Niagara, Nick Nero used boats and trucks to bring in about 400 kilograms of cocaine per week. The group also plotted to use commercial airlines and explored international routes.

What major police investigations have targeted the Wolfpack Alliance?

Major investigations include Project Ink (2012), which targeted Nick Nero's Niagara operation. Project Loquace (2012) led to 103 arrests in Montreal. Project Divergent (2022) was an international probe into drug smuggling into Manitoba. Project Puma (2024 to 2025) resulted in Manitoba's largest drug bust. These investigations often involve multiple police agencies and span several provinces.

Is the Wolfpack Alliance still active?

Yes, law enforcement indicates the Wolfpack Alliance remains active and influential. As of June 2023, police stated it has significant control over the Downtown Eastside drug trade in Vancouver. Recent major drug busts like Project Puma in 2024 to 2025 specifically cited connections to the alliance. The May 2025 arrest in Mexico of fugitive Denis Ivziku demonstrates its ongoing international ties.

Sources and further reading

• Wolfpack Alliance (Wikipedia)
• B.C. fugitive in major Manitoba drug case arrested in Mexico (ca.news.yahoo.com)
• Death and dollar signs: how organized crime groups profit ... (rcmp.ca)
• Canada cartels: Manitoba drug bust reveals growing ... (cp24.com)

Checked by the Nosy Mag desk. Last updated 2026-10-28.