A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the capture of a Burnaby man wanted in an international money laundering operation.
Cong Dinh, 32, is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in connection to money laundering and drug smuggling, Chief Supt. Keith Finn told reporters during a news conference at the B.C. RCMP headquarters in Surrey Tuesday.
Finn, who heads up the RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime division, said the probe into Dinh began in 2009 with a joint investigation with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Those organizations believe Dinh is part of a Vietnamese crime group that was allegedly involved in the laundering of approximately $7 million obtained from drug trafficking.
Maxime Langlois of the Bolo Program says the $50K reward will be available for Cong Dinh up till June 2020.
He wants Dinh to know that “someone in the Lower Mainland knows exactly where you are. With a $50K reward, the loyalty of your friends will be tested. @BlackPressMedia pic.twitter.com/TyMMFryoVl— Kat Slepian (@katslepian) December 3, 2019
Dinh is charged with five counts of money laundering and one count of possession of the proceeds of crime. An American man charged as a result of the same investigation pleaded guilty to money laundering and drug trafficking charges in California in 2013, Finn said.
Dinh has not been heard from or seen in years, but authorities believe he is hiding out in Vietnam after the warrant for his arrest was issued in 2013.
The crime group he’s believed to be tied to has trafficked cannabis and ecstasy into the U.S. and cocaine into Canada.
“This network included affiliations in California, Mexico, Australia, Vietnam and across Canada,” Finn said.
The Bolo Program’s Maxime Langlois warned Dinh that “someone in the Lower Mainland knows exactly where you are,” and that his friends’ loyalty will be tested with a $50,000 reward.
The program was formed by the Stephan Crétier Foundation and offers rewards for Canada’s most wanted. BOLO is a law enforcement term that means “be on the lookout.”
Earlier this week, police announced the arrest in California of longtime fugitive Brandon Teixeira, wanted for a 2017 killing in Surrey, with support from the Bolo program.
READ MORE: Fugitive in South Surrey murder arrested in California
Dinh is described as five-foot-six, about 132 lbs, with black hair, brown eyes, protruding ears and a scar on his right eyebrow. His last known residence was in the 5600 block of Goring Street in Burnaby.
The $50,000 reward is available till June 3, 2020.
Anyone with tips is asked to contact the RCMP at 778-290-4435, or if they wish to remain anonymous, by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submitting a tip online at at www.solvecrime.ca.
Crime Stoppers may offer an additional $5,000 reward, the organization said.
