3-7-2024 (BANGKOK) Matthew Dupre, a former Canadian soldier, has pleaded guilty to his involvement in the high-profile murder of Canadian gangster Jimi Sandhu in Phuket, Thailand. The admission came on the first day of Dupre’s trial at Bangkok’s Criminal Court on 27th June, marking a significant development in a case that has captivated international attention.
The brutal assassination of Jimi “Slice” Sandhu, a known member of Vancouver’s United Nations gang, occurred on 4th February 2022 at a luxurious beachfront resort in Phuket. Security footage captured the dramatic hit, showing two foreign men gunning down Sandhu outside his rented villa at the Beachfront Hotel on Rawai Beach.
Sandhu, who had been deported from Canada to India in 2016 due to his criminal activities, had been a frequent visitor to Phuket since then. At the time of his death, he was a wanted man in India for drug trafficking and had recently been barred from entering Malaysia. Thai authorities believed he was deeply involved in drug trafficking operations across Southeast Asia.
The investigation revealed that Dupre and his alleged accomplice, Gene Lahrkamp, arrived in Phuket on 18th December 2021, nearly two months before the murder. They swiftly left Thailand on 8th February 2022, mere days after the assassination.
Canadian law enforcement, working in conjunction with Thai authorities, suspected the killing was linked to ongoing gang conflicts in British Columbia. This led to searches of Dupre’s residence in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Lahrkamp’s home, and the property of a third suspect in Ontario who was never formally charged.
Dupre was apprehended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at his Alberta home on 20th February 2022. His co-accused, Lahrkamp, met a tragic end when a small plane he was travelling in crashed near Sioux Lookout, Ontario, on 30th April 2022.
Both Dupre and Lahrkamp had served in the Canadian Armed Forces, with Dupre’s service spanning from 2005 to 2013 and Lahrkamp’s from 2012 to 2018. Intriguingly, Dupre’s LinkedIn profile boasted of his subsequent work as a private military contractor in Syria and Iraq, where he claimed to have engaged in battles against ISIS.
After agreeing to extradition in May 2023, Dupre has been held in Bangkok. In a crucial development, Thai authorities agreed to waive the death penalty to meet Canadian extradition requirements.
