US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1580

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OTTAWA 001580 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE 
 
SECSTATE FOR ECA/PE/V/R/W - EWILKES-SCOTT; ECA/PE/V/M - 
SLOCKWOOD; WHA/PDA - JCARPENTER-ROCK 
MONTREAL, TORONTO AND VANCOUVER FOR PAOS; 
HALIFAX AND QUEBEC FOR CONGENS; 
CALGARY FOR FIELD REPS; CALGARY PLEASE PASS TO WINNIPEG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, OEXC, SCUL, CA, IV Program 
SUBJECT: FY 2006 IVLP MRP on International Crime Issues - 
June 29-July 20, 2006 - Steve Rai (Principal Candidate) 
 
REFERENCE:  OTTAWA 1504 
 
Post is pleased to nominate Steve Rai, Sergeant in the 
Vancouver Police Department, for subject project.  This 
project supports the Mission goal of combating international 
crime.  Mr. Rai has full country team approval.  EVDB- 
formatted nomination follows. 
 
START FIXED-FORMAT TEXT (PLEASE DO NOT EDIT): 
: The following data is in a fixed format which enables 
: automated processing in Washington and should not be 
: edited except by means of the Post-EVDB software. 
EXPORT-SOURCE: POST-EVDB 
VERSION: 3.0.7 
POST-EMAIL: slw@pd.state.gov 
TRANSMITTING-POST: PAS Ottawa 
TRANSMITTING-POST-ID: 6540 
EXPORT-TYPE: BIO DATA 
START NOMINATION: 
ECA-OFFICE: E/VRW 
PROG-AGENCY-NAME: 
POST-PROJ-ID: 358 
ECA-PROJ-NO: 
PROJ-NAME: Rai, Steve - MRP International Crime Issues, June 
29-July 20,2006 
START MEMO PROJ-DESC: 
 
END MEMO PROJ-DESC: 
PROJ-TYPE: Multi-Regional 
PROG-TYPE: IV Grant Visitor 
FY: 2006 
DEPART-POST: 6/28/2006 
SESSION-DATE: 6/29/2006 
RETURN-POST: 7/21/2006 
NO-OF-PART: 1 
RANK-ORDER: 5 
START MEMO POST-OBJ: 
Steve Rai is a 38 year old, highly motivated leader within 
the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) with excellent 
potential to move up in the ranks.  During his tenure as a 
police officer, he has risen to the rank of sergeant while 
working not only as a street level officer but also as a 
recruiter, negotiator and liaison to the Indo-Canadian 
community.  Sergeant Rai is one of the youngest sergeants in 
the Vancouver Police and has been identified by VPD 
management as a probable future senior manager.  His 
willingness to understand U.S. culture and views and his 
potential to influence both cross-border policing and his 
community make him an outstanding candidate for the IV 
program. 
Sergeant Rai is an ethnic Sikh Pungabi East Indian and is 
extensively involved with the 230,000 member Vancouver Indo- 
Canadian community where he acts as the VPD liaison. He has 
been involved in numerous high profile investigations of 
Indo-Canadian organized criminal groups who routinely target 
the U.S. with criminal attacks on U.S. financial payment 
systems and smuggling of illegal drugs.  The Indo-Canadian 
community controls most of the British Columbia trucking 
industry that ships a huge amount of legitimate and 
illegitimate exports to/from the U.S. each day including 
vast amounts of B.C. grown marijuana and other contraband. 
Furthermore, Indo-Canadian gangs are responsible for high- 
dollar counterfeit debit and credit card attacks on U.S. 
financial institutions.  The Indo-Canadian gangs involved in 
these organized criminal activities are highly volatile and 
have accounted for an inordinate amount of violent crime 
including more than 50 homicides in the past six years. 
Canadian and U.S. law enforcement and B.C. government 
officials have identified the illicit activities of Indo- 
Canadian gangs as a major criminal and social problem and 
expend considerable resources on investigating and 
preventing their criminal and violent actions which often 
have a major impact on the U.S.  Sgt. Rai is an influential 
partner in these efforts. 
Sgt. Rai not only uses his knowledge of Indo-Canadian 
culture and his skills as a Punjabi and Hindi speaker to 
investigate criminal activities in that community but he is 
also proactive in improving the relationship between Indo- 
Canadians and others.  He devotes both professional and 
personal time to various community boards, safety committees 
and focus groups. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian 
Studies from the University of British Columbia and has 
continued to enhance his knowledge of Asian issues by 
traveling extensively to India and other Asian countries to 
further his education. 
Sgt. Rai has a strong background as a police officer with 
not only routine patrol and management assignments but also 
specialized assignments as an emergency response team 
hostage negotiator, forensic interviewer, internal 
investigator and critical incident stress team responder, 
all of which make him an outstanding prospect for senior 
management.  In his current role as the VPD recruitment 
officer, Sgt. Rai has sought to elevate the educational and 
ethical standards for VPD recruits and is interested in 
consulting with U.S. police as to their experiences and 
methods used to enhance professionalism of their 
departments. 
In conclusion, Sgt. Rai is a valuable contact for the 
federal law enforcement agencies at the Vancouver U.S. 
Consulate and is on track to becoming a senior manager 
within the Vancouver Police Department.  His sphere of 
influence includes not only VPD and their policies 
concerning cooperation with U.S. law enforcement on cross- 
border counter-terrorism, drug smuggling, financial crimes, 
human trafficking and other criminal investigations but 
also, as a leader in the Indo-Canadian community, includes 
influence within the second largest ethnic group in B.C. and 
their understanding of U.S. goals and policies.  The IVP 
would benefit Sgt. Rai because although he has an 
exceptional amount of experience and education for a law 
enforcement official of his age, he has had very little 
exposure to the U.S. culture and policies.  Sgt. Rai has 
never lived in the U.S. nor has he traveled there much.  The 
IVP program would provide this exceptional young 
professional with an understanding of U.S. culture and views 
and serve as the cornerstone for the pursuit of common goals 
with him, his profession and his community. 
END MEMO POST-OBJ: 
START MEMO POST-RCMD: 
We recommend that Mr. Rai participate in an MRP on 
international crime. There are two possibilities--The EU MRP 
on Combatting International Crime scheduled for Sep. 25 - 
Oct. 13, 2006 or the MRP on International Crime Issues 
scheduled for Jun 29 - July 20, 2006. 
END MEMO POST-RCMD: 
ECA-OFFICE-ID: 1037 
PROG-AGENCY-ID: 
PROJ-TYPE-ID: MRP 
PROG-TYPE-ID: 29 
NOMINATING-POST-ID: 88501 
FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 322158 
STATUS: N 
ORIGINATOR: P 
SUBJ-DISC: Law Enforcement 
START BIO: 
PREFIX: Mr. 
F-NAME: Steve 
M-NAME: 
L-NAME: Rai 
SUFFIX: 
POSITION-CODE: 100 
PRINCIPAL?: Yes 
GENDER: M 
DOB: 05/04/1966 
MAR-STAT: U 
BIRTH-CITY: Punjab 
BIRTH-CNTRY: India 
CITIZ-CNTRY: Canada 
RES-CNTRY: Canada 
START MEMO POSITION: 
Sergeant - Vancouver Police Department 
END MEMO POSITION: 
START MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
 
END MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
Constable - Vancouver Police Department 
END MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
October, 2004 - Las Vegas  Police Critical Incident Advanced 
Training Course 
2000, 2001 and 2003 - Vacations at Disneyland 
1999 - Hawaii vacation 
No U.S. government funded trips 
END MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
Middle East-Jordan and Egypt 1999 
India 1995, 1998, 2001 
Singapore 1995, 1998 
END MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO EDUCATION: 
Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies, University of British 
Columbia 
END MEMO EDUCATION: 
START MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
 
END MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
START MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
 
END MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
START MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
none 
END MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
FIRST-LANG: English 
ENGL-READ: 5 
ENGL-SPEAK: 5 
ENGL-COMP: 5 
START OTHER-LANGS: 
OTHER-LANG: Hindi 
OTHER-LANG-ID: HJ 
READ: 2 
SPEAK: 2 
COMP: 2 
END OTHER-LANGS: 
START OTHER-LANGS: 
OTHER-LANG: Other 
OTHER-LANG-ID: YZ 
READ: 5 
SPEAK: 5 
COMP: 5 
END OTHER-LANGS: 
START MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
START MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
 
 
END MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
START MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
START MEMO VIS-REC: 
 
END MEMO VIS-REC: 
NOMINATING-OFFICER: Thomas Musselwhite - USSS et al 
START MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
Steve Rai is a 38 year old, highly motivated leader within 
the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) with excellent 
potential to move up in the ranks.  During his tenure as a 
police officer, he has risen to the rank of sergeant while 
working not only as a street level officer but also as a 
recruiter, negotiator and liaison to the Indo-Canadian 
community.  Sergeant Rai is one of the youngest sergeants in 
the Vancouver Police and has been identified by VPD 
management as a probable future senior manager.  His 
willingness to understand U.S. culture and views and his 
potential to influence both cross-border policing and his 
community make him an outstanding candidate for the IVLP 
program. 
Sergeant Rai is an ethnic Sikh Punjabi East Indian and is 
extensively involved with the 230,000 member Vancouver Indo- 
Canadian community where he acts as the VPD liaison. He has 
been involved in numerous high profile investigations of 
Indo-Canadian organized criminal groups who routinely target 
the U.S. with criminal attacks on U.S. financial payment 
systems and smuggling of illegal drugs.  The Indo-Canadian 
community controls most of the British Columbia trucking 
industry that ships a huge amount of legitimate and 
illegitimate exports to/from the U.S. each day including 
vast amounts of B.C. grown marijuana and other contraband. 
Furthermore, Indo-Canadian gangs are responsible for high- 
dollar counterfeit debit and credit card attacks on U.S. 
financial institutions.  The Indo-Canadian gangs involved in 
these organized criminal activities are highly volatile and 
have accounted for an inordinate amount of violent crime 
including more than 50 homicides in the past six years. 
Canadian and U.S. law enforcement and B.C. government 
officials have identified the illicit activities of Indo- 
Canadian gangs as a major criminal and social problem and 
expend considerable resources on investigating and 
preventing their criminal and violent actions which often 
have a major impact on the U.S.  Sgt. Rai is an influential 
partner in these efforts. 
Sgt. Rai not only uses his knowledge of Indo-Canadian 
culture and his skills as a Punjabi and Hindi speaker to 
investigate criminal activities in that community but he is 
also proactive in improving the relationship between Indo- 
Canadians and others.  He devotes both professional and 
personal time to various community boards, safety committees 
and focus groups. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian 
Studies from the University of British Columbia and has 
continued to enhance his knowledge of Asian issues by 
traveling extensively to India and other Asian countries to 
further his education. 
Sgt. Rai has a strong background as a police officer with 
not only routine patrol and management assignments but also 
specialized assignments as an emergency response team 
hostage negotiator, forensic interviewer, internal 
investigator and critical incident stress team responder, 
all of which make him an outstanding prospect for senior 
management.  In his current role as the VPD recruitment 
officer, Sgt. Rai has sought to elevate the educational and 
ethical standards for VPD recruits and is interested in 
consulting with U.S. police as to their experiences and 
methods used to enhance professionalism of their 
departments. 
In conclusion, Sgt. Rai is a valuable contact for the 
federal law enforcement agencies at the Vancouver U.S. 
Consulate and is on track to becoming a senior manager 
within the Vancouver Police Department.  His sphere of 
influence includes not only VPD and their policies 
concerning cooperation with U.S. law enforcement on cross- 
border counter-terrorism, drug smuggling, financial crimes, 
human trafficking and other criminal investigations but 
also, as a leader in the Indo-Canadian community, includes 
influence within the second largest ethnic group in B.C. and 
their understanding of U.S. goals and policies.  The IVLP 
would benefit Sgt. Rai because although he has an 
exceptional amount of experience and education for a law 
enforcement official of his age, he has had very little 
exposure to U.S. culture and policies.  Sgt. Rai has never 
lived in the U.S. nor has he traveled there much.  The IVLP 
program would provide this exceptional young professional 
with an understanding of U.S. culture and views and serve as 
the cornerstone for the pursuit of common goals with him, 
his profession and his community. 
This nomination supports the Mission goal of combating 
international crime. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
END MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
NOM-OFF: ConGen Vancouver 
SPEAKER?: No 
NOTIFY-EMB: No 
MEDIA?: No 
HOME-STAY: No 
HOME-HOSP?: Yes 
E-I-TYPE: ELEO 
NOMINEE-ID: 529 
PERSON-ID: 408 
BIRTH-CNTRY-ID: IN 
CITIZ-CNTRY-ID: CA 
RES-CNTRY-ID: CA 
FIRST-LANG-ID: EN 
E-I-TYPE-ID: E 
NOM-POST-ID: 88501 
NOM-FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 322158 
NOM-STATUS: N 
DS2019-ACTION: 1 
DS2019-SUBJECT: 22.9999 
SPONS-FUNDS: 0 
SPONS-AGENCY1: 
USGOVT-AGENCY1: 
US-AGENCY-AMT1: 0 
USGOVT-AGENCY2: 
US-AGENCY-AMT2: 0 
INTL-ORG1: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT1: 0 
INTL-ORG2: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT2: 0 
VIS-GOVT-AMT: 0 
COMMISSION: 0 
OTHER-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-CAT: 5 
END BIO: 
END NOMINATION: 
END FIXED-FORMAT TEXT: 
 
DICKSON, CHARGE