Vancouver: A plane crash in Ontario that killed an alleged hit man also claimed the life of a man believed to be linked to a separate murder plot.
A warrant for the arrest of Duncan Howard Bailey was issued by B.C. authorities on April 26, days before a man with an identical name died when the small aircraft went down in a remote area in northwestern Ontario.
Authorities have said Gene Lahrkamp, who was wanted in Thailand for the murder of a man with gang links in B.C., was also among the four men killed in the crash.
The information raises questions about why Bailey and Lahrkamp were on the same flight and what their connection might be _ details that British Columbia’s anti-gang unit have said they are investigating.
“We would be looking into why and what kind of connections if any (Lahrkamp) had with those other people,’’ Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Wednesday.
Police have identified the other two victims on the plane as pilot Abhinav Handa and Hankun Kong, both of Richmond, B.C.
The wreckage was found Saturday after the flight was reported overdue. It left Dryden, Ont., Friday evening but never made it to its destination in Marthon, Ont., the Transportation Safety Board has said.
Bailey’s indictment shows he was charged alongside two other men for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in an attack on Mir Aali Hussain on Oct. 6, 2020. Hussain was killed in a separate shooting nearly a year later, the Integrated Homicide Investigations Team has said.
The other two men pleaded guilty to attempted murder in March and their sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 12, the BC Prosecution Service said.
By Amy Smart
The Canadian Press
