By Ric Swihart

Brooks 

The African Mafia Street Gang may be operating in Winnipeg, but an extensive investigation into reports the gang has members and associates are living in the City of Brooks are unfounded, says a Brooks RCMP official.
Cst. William Eros with the Brooks RCMP GIS - Crime Reduction Unit, said Friday initial reports stem from an opinion written by a member of the Winnipeg Police Service followed closely by meetings held by local Brooks community groups.

That is when the Brooks RCMP GIS - Crime Reduction Unit launched an investigation to confirm these allegations, locate the associated members and target their criminal activity.
The investigation revealed:

• The African Mafia is a Winnipeg-based street gang that formed 2005 as a splinter-group of the already existing Winnipeg-based Mad Cow Street Gang.

The new African Mafia Street Gang said it was not associated to the Mad Cow Street Gang.
• In consultation with the Province of Manitoba Provincial Threat Assessment on Street Gangs and the opinion published by the Winnipeg Police Service. the Brooks RCMP GIS - Crime Reduction Unit has confirmed that no member of the African Mafia Street Gang has ever been identified as traveling to or residing in Brooks.

The Brooks RCMP GIS - Crime Reduction Unit met with members of the African Canadian Council to discuss the issues relating to the African Mafia Street Gang.  That meeting was held to calm fears that the African Mafia Street Gang is operating a criminal organization within Brooks, educate the members of the council on the facts surrounding the African Mafia Street Gang, and to dispel rumours that the police had labeled all members of the African community as Mafia members.

Eros said the Brooks RCMP GIS - Crime Reduction Unit will continue to investigate claims of gang activity, organized crime and drug abuse within Brooks and the County of Newell in partnership with ALERT and the concerned members of the city and county.