Omid Tahvili

Tahvili in 2005

Omid Tahvili ( Persian امید تحویلی), also " Omid Roushan " ( Persian امید روشن) or " Nino ", (born October 31, 1970 in Tehran , Iran ) is a wanted criminal and the head of an Iranian criminal clan with connections to global drug syndicates . According to the FBI and Interpol , Tahvili is considered a key figure in organized crime in Canada and has been on the run since April 2008. Tahvili was ranked 10th Most Wanted in the world on the FBI World's 10 Most Wanted, according to Forbes Magazine .

Tahvili's organization

According to the Canadian authorities and the FBI, the Tahvili organization had consisted of a professional network of a dozen members within the Iranian community in Vancouver since around 2003 . The group operated primarily in Canada and the United States . As early as 2003, Tahvili presumably commanded a 20 to 30-strong gang, the majority of which were Iranians. It included drug couriers, traffickers, and hit men . The gang used their contacts from the second largest Iranian community in Canada with almost half a million Iranians to the USA, in the greater California area but especially Los Angeles with its Persian quarter called Tehrangeles in which with around 2 million Iranians the largest Iranian community outside of the country Iran exists . According to Interpol and the FBI, Tahvili's organization served as a bridgehead to the globally operating drug mafia from the Middle East . For several years, the group obtained raw opium and heroin through their contacts directly from transit countries such as Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan . There were also close ties to international drug syndicates such as the notorious D-Company , headed by Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar , the so-called godfather of Mumbai . This is also currently on the FBI's World Most Wanted list at number 3 of the most wanted people in the world. The Iranians cooperated locally with the Chinese Mafia organizations, such as the Triads of Vancouver and Toronto, which are strongly represented in Canada .

Criminal activity

Drug trafficking

Omid Tahvili probably came to Canada from Iran in 1994. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) did not notice him until November 2000 when he and his brother-in-law were arrested by the Vancouver Police Department and the RCMP during an anti-drug operation . The two carried three kilograms of cocaine with them. In the course of this investigation, the police discovered that Tahvili was connected to a global drug syndicate from the Middle East. There were 39 charges against nine suspects. Eight kilograms of opium, half a kilo of crystal meth and 113 grams of ecstasy were seized and Tahvili was charged with the head of an Iranian group of drug smugglers. In the course of the proceedings, however, Tahvili's lawyers were able to convince the court to acquit him, as no direct connection between him and the smuggling could be established.

Fraud

Between 1999 and 2002, Tahvili carried out a sophisticated fraud scheme using a telephone sales service by faking lottery winnings that were only to be paid out in return for an advance payment. In the course of this, Tahvili and his gang were able to loot a total of 3 million US dollars. On January 30, 2003, the US District Court of California issued an arrest warrant against Tahvili for gang fraud and aiding and abetting fraud .

Gang war

The Tahvili gang is said to be involved in several shootings and unsolved murders in the course of various gang rivalries . In the course of the so-called Vancouver Gang War, the house of Tahvili's family burned after a Molotov cocktail was smashed into it. However, the police investigation fizzled out after the incident because Tahvili's relatives refused to cooperate with the authorities. Neither the identity of the suspects nor the precise reason for the arson attack could be determined. Even if it goes against rivals , say the Canadian investigators, the principle applies to all relatives of the criminal: "You do not trust anyone and you will not speak to the police."

Condemnation

Tahvili, who also goes by the name "Omid Roushan" or Nino , is considered "extremely dangerous, violent and may be prone to sadism " according to the FBI search in the course of gang disputes . According to the prosecution, Tahvili discovered that $ 300,000 had disappeared from his drug business. He mistook one of his longtime couriers for the suspected thief who had gone to Vietnam with the money . In order to find out the whereabouts of the fugitive, the alleged thief's brother-in-law was kidnapped on Tahvili's orders and held in hiding for several hours and interrogated until he was finally released. After his release, the man asked the Canadian police for protective custody and stated that he had been personally tortured, sexually abused and raped by Tahvili for several hours . Have been charged against then Tahvili hostage-taking , torture and sexual assault charged, which is why he was arrested in July 2005 in the high security area of Port Coquitlam in British Columbia prison was.

Escape

In July 2005 Tahvili was up to his trial in the so-called Super Max prison from Port Coquitlam at the maximum security level prison. Nevertheless, he managed to escape from the supposedly safe breakout-proof maximum security prison in November 2007 by bribing guard Edwin Ticne with $ 50,000. For this, the guard let Tahvili, disguised as a cleaning man, escape through the security lock. Tahvili's escape, with the help of the guard Edwin Ticne, was recorded by the surveillance cameras . After Tahvili's spectacular escape, the court sentenced him in absentia to 11 years. Guard Edward Ticne was sentenced to 3 years for aiding and abetting.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FBI Crime Alert - Omid Tahvili . Federal Bureau of Investigation . Retrieved April 30, 2008.
2. ↑ The World's Most Wanted: As a cleaning man in the freedom on stern.de from August 19, 2008
3. ^ Nathan Vardi: The World's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives . Forbes.com. April 25, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
4. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from June 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.