SIOUX LOOKOUT – A wanted fugitive in connection with a Thailand murder has been confirmed as one of the victims of last week's plane crash.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia has confirmed that one of the plane crash victims in Northwestern Ontario on April 30, 2022, was the fugitive wanted for murder by the Royal Thailand Police.
On Feb. 4, 2022, Jimi Sandhu was murdered in Thailand and the Royal Thai Police subsequently identified two Canadian suspects, Gene Karl Lahrkamp and Mathew Dupre. Following the murder, both Lahrkamp and Dupre fled Thailand to Canada.
The Royal Thai Police charged both Lahrkamp and Dupre with murder and engaged the Canadian Department of Justice to request assistance in locating and arresting them. As a result, Provisional Arrest Warrants were issued in Canada for the arrest of Lahrkamp and Dupre.
Due to Sandhu’s gang affiliations and history in British Columbia, CFSEU-BC led the Canadian investigation into the search for Lahrkamp and Dupre.
Dupre was arrested on Feb. 20, 2022 in Alberta with the assistance of local RCMP and has been held in custody to await the extradition process.
On April 30, 2022, a small plane occupied by four individuals crashed near Sioux Lookout. All four individuals on board did not survive the crash.
Pilot Abhinay Handa, 26, of Richmond, B.C., Gene Lahrkamp, 36, of Kincardine, Ont., and Duncan Bailey, 37, of Kamloops, B.C. were killed.
The name of the fourth victim will not be released until the family members have been notified.
The crash remains under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board.
Sioux Lookout OPP asks anyone with information about this crash to contact OPP at 1-888-310-1122. You can also provide information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
