The head of the RCMP’s detachment in Richmond, B.C., warned his superior “the monster is growing” and that an influx of organized crime groups surrounding the city’s new River Rock Casino could take over B.C.’s gaming industry, the province’s inquiry into money laundering has heard.
Ward Clapham, the detachment’s chief officer when the River Rock opened in 2004, told the Cullen Commission on Tuesday that the size of the casino had been drawing crime groups from outside the region, and had been draining Richmond’s policing resources.
Clapham said he tried to send foot patrols to the casino to deter a rise in crime, but low resources meant those were infrequent. Even then, he testified, an unidentified Great Canadian Gaming executive still called him and asked that police visits be curtailed because they were bad for business.
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