Inside British Columbia’s Cultus Lake Narco Corridor — How Chinese State-Linked Syndicates Seized Strategic Ground on America’s Doorstep

Exclusive: Inside British Columbia’s Cultus Lake Narco Corridor — How Chinese State-Linked Syndicates Seized Strategic Ground on America’s Doorstep by Sam Cooper for The Bureau on Substack.

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Overview:

This investigative report unveils a critical vulnerability along British Columbia’s Cultus Lake region, exposing a strategic corridor where Chinese state-linked narco syndicates have systematically acquired significant border-adjacent properties. Centered around the notorious Sam Gor syndicate and its leader Tse Chi Lop, this investigation reveals a complex network operating at the intersection of transnational drug trafficking, money laundering, and state-sponsored influence activities. The 30-acre property near the US border links to individuals connected with Chinese security apparatus, mining interests, and the United Front Work Department. Key figures like Peter Lap-San Pang and Ye Long Yong highlight the sophisticated criminal infrastructure, with connections spanning multiple jurisdictions including Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, and mainland China. The report suggests these properties serve as drug trafficking conduits and strategic high ground for complex transnational criminal operations.

“The number of people—nefarious people—who have places down there, it’s quite phenomenal,” an intelligence analyst not authorized to be named said.

“It’s a very difficult place to do any surveillance on. Not a lot of properties, big properties—and anybody that doesn’t have a local license plate or something from there, they just get spotted right away.” Combine that with its location—adjacent to the U.S. border—and, the source added, “it’s got to be some of the most favorable area in the Lower Mainland to be doing any kind of cannabis stuff or drug smuggling.”

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