Vancouver man with gang links slain in Guadalajara

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat  Thank you again "Tu Fren" 👏 from Vancouver Sun

Guiseppe Bugge, also known as Benny, had been linked to the drug trade in B.C. for years before he was targeted in Mexico. A commando of 15 in 3 vehicles, shot 144 times to assure his death.

by Kim Bolan

A West Vancouver man associated with the Hells Angels has been shot to death in Mexico, Postmedia News has learned.

Guiseppe Bugge, 42, died in a hail of bullets Thursday night at a posh shopping centre in an exclusive neighborhood of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Local news reports said three vehicles pulled up about 9:30 p.m. and between eight and 10 men jumped out and fired at Bugge, who has a long history of fraud in B.C.

More than 140 bullets were fired at him, killing him instantly and injuring one of his Mexican-American associates [ later died] and two bystanders.

Jalisco prosecutor Raúl Sánchez Jiménez said at a news conference that the state government had asked the Canadian and American consulates for information about Bugge and the injured man.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Bugge is known to police in this province.

“He is associated with the Hells Angels and involved in drug trafficking,” Winpenny said.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the federal government is providing “consular services” to the victim’s family.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian citizen who has been murdered in Mexico,” Brittany Fletcher said in an email.

“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information. Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act, no further information can be disclosed.”

The Canadian government has issued advisories warning people not to travel to several northern and western states in Mexico “due to the high levels of violence and organized crime.”

But the state of Jalisco, where the city of Guadalajara is located, is not under an advisory.

Bugge had been living in a West Vancouver house with a 2018 assessed value of more than $5 million.

In March 2018, he incorporated a company called G.S. Crypto Currency Ltd. with the B.C. corporate registry. He was listed as the sole director.

In July, Bugge and his new company sued the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce after it froze his corporate account to do an investigation of a transaction.

“As a business, Crypto exchanges currency for a digital currency known as Bitcoin,” Bugge’s suit says.

The court documents say Bugge was notified that his account was under investigation on June 4, 2018 over a $134,408 US cheque he took from a customer to buy Bitcoin.

He filed his suit days later, saying in it that “Bugge was not prepared to tolerate an indefinite block of the accounts.”

He won a default court order to release the funds on July 5 because CIBC filed no response, Bugge’s court documents state.

Bugge also has a second company called GSSK Rare Coins and Paper Money, which he started in 2013.

And he has operated a number of moving companies over the years that were the subject of many customer complaints and at least one criminal investigation.

In April, 2005, a truck belonging to Bugge’s Student Pro Movers was seized by U.S. authorities at the Blaine border crossing, where agents found 285 kilograms of marijuana stuffed inside. The driver of the truck was arrested, charged and later pled guilty to smuggling.

Around the same time, customers of Bugge’s moving company from as far away as Alaska and Texas

were reporting their goods had never arrived. One customer, who finally retrieved her property from a storage facility, noticed the lining on her couch was slit.

In June 2005, Bugge was kidnapped in what police described as a drug trade-linked extortion.

He later showed up at a stranger’s door assaulted, handcuffed in plastic straps and suffering from cuts.

Three men later pled guilty to unlawful confinement, but other charges against them were dropped.

Also in 2005, Bugge was cited by the B.C. Financial Institution Commission for selling insurance to customers of his moving business without authorization and ordered to discontinue the practice.

Mexican Media account from INFOBAE

A commando of between 10 and 15 men murdered a Canadian identified as Giuseppe Bugge, on Thursday night in the luxurious Punto Sao Paulo shopping center, located in the financial zone of Zapopan, a municipality of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The victim died at the scene, after the armed men fired at least 144 bullets at  him and injured three more of his companions.

According to the investigation, Bugge  was outside the mall, accompanied by four other people, when the commando arrived in three trucks, which were parked in Avenida de las Américas .

The armed exited the vehicles, approaching the Canadian's group and fired directly at Bugge.

Carlos Eduardo López Mercado, Nathaniel Chameri Grajeda and Alfredo Mayorga Gudiño -the latter of Mexican-American nationality- were suffered gunshot wounds and were admitted to the Civil Hospital of Guadalajara .

A woman who was with them was unharmed and is now under the protection of the Attorney General of the state, and will render her statement of the facts for the  investigation.

The woman indicated that she was only friendly with the American.

Also injured were two people not directly involved,  a security guard at the mall, who was shot with a bullet in the head and hand, and an injured leg. The two are out of danger.

The state police arrived at the place after the attack. There the authorities found 144 casings of high-caliber weapons, such as AK47, .223 for AR-15, 5.7 and 9 millimeters.

"We are sure it is organized crime," said Attorney General Raúl Sánchez Jiménez. " To have arrived a group of three vehicles and a minimum of 8 passengers, plus drivers, we are talking about 10, 12, 15 people , who acted at that time, and in such a busy place."

The prosecutor said that investigations are already underway to learn about the activities of the Canadian in the state, who was staying at the hotel Fiesta Americana.

He only said that the initial investigation show that he received money from various parts of the country, such as Quintana Roo.

The prosecutor also reported that they are already investigating with the United States Consulate what type of activities their injured citizen reported upon entering the country.