A full-patch member of the Hells Angels’ Haney chapter has been sentenced to four years in prison following a sweeping RCMP investigation that exposed an international drug smuggling network stretching from British Columbia to the U.S. West Coast.
In a statement released by the B.C. RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) program, police confirmed that Vincenzo Sansalone was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2023, after being found guilty of his role in the large-scale narcotics operation.
Sansalone was one of four men charged following a multi-jurisdictional investigation that began in Kelowna, a known hub for illegal drug activity, before expanding across B.C.’s Lower Mainland and down through Seattle to San Diego.
The probe, launched by FSOC officers years earlier, culminated in March 2018, when RCMP executed a coordinated series of warrants and raids at multiple residences linked to the suspects. Investigators used advanced surveillance tools — including undercover operations and court-authorized wiretaps — to map out a network involved in the importation, production, and trafficking of controlled substances.
According to the RCMP, the operation uncovered a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into Canada from the United States, and also revealed the manufacture and distribution of MDMA, a synthetic drug often sold as ecstasy.
“Through the use of numerous advanced investigative techniques, including undercover operations and wire taps, FSOC investigators were able to gather sufficient evidence to arrest the main suspects for conspiracy to import cocaine into Canada from the U.S., as well as production and trafficking of MDMA,” the RCMP said in a media release.
During the course of the operation, police seized 12 kilograms of MDMA and $380,000 in cash, which the suspects allegedly intended to use as a down payment for 18 kilograms of cocaine.
Alongside Sansalone, police charged Daniel James Alexander, Martino Calabretti, and Zlatko Garvic with various offences, including trafficking MDMA/MDA and conspiracy to import cocaine.
Alexander was sentenced to five years in prison on March 9, 2023, while Garvic received a four-year sentence on April 27, 2023. Calabretti’s case remains before the court.
RCMP officials said the men were all active participants in international organized crime and part of a broader network that continues to be monitored by federal investigators.
“This case underscores the complexity and persistence of organized crime in British Columbia and beyond,” the FSOC statement noted. “Our teams remain committed to targeting those who profit from drug trafficking and to dismantling the criminal networks that endanger our communities.”
Source: CBC
