Head of Calgary gang ‘The Family’ to be sentenced in March

The Calgary gang leader, who ruled with an iron fist, used a vulnerable woman to sell drugs and herself.

Lawrence Orubor ran the criminal organization ‘The Family’ from 2015 to 2020.

The court heard that the victim, who can’t be identified due to a publication ban, was homeless and addicted to drugs when she was recruited into the gang to sell drugs to a large homeless camp near the Calgary Drop-in Centre.

At one point, Orubor beat her up after she lost the money she made selling drugs.

The victim, as the court heard, was then forced into prostitution.

Crown lawyer Fiorella Avolio said Orubor enticed the victim by saying that if the business went well, she would get her own place, and that she would make money as a prostitute because she was pretty. Avolio mentioned that members of ‘The Family’ referred to Orubor as ‘Dad’.

In her submissions, Avolio argued that Orubor’s control of the victim was significant, adding that he would control her money, where she lived, who she saw, and her supply of drugs. She said Orubor would act with hostility and aggression towards the victim if the rules were not followed.

“The willingness of the offender to resort to psychological control, manipulation, and threats of violence all while he disguised himself as this generous caretaker, as ‘Dad,’ is exceptionally egregious and insidious,” she said.

“He sought to maximize profit at the expense of victims,” she added.

Avolio proposed a sentence of six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years in prison to be served consecutively with the 10-year sentence Orubor is already serving for drug trafficking. But defense lawyer Tyson Dahlem argued that a consecutive sentence would be ‘unduly harsh’.

“There’s no question that Mr. Orubor’s moral culpability is high. But the question the court must address to agree with the Crown’s sentencing submission is whether or not Mr. Orubor’s moral culpability is high enough to warrant a sentence that would result in 16-and-a-half to 17-and-a-half years of incarceration because that’s the practical effect of what the Crown is seeking,” he said.

Dahlem told the court that Orubor has three grown children and a wife he described as ‘supportive’.

Earlier, the court heard that Orubor would encourage the use of violence as the head of ‘The Family’ to control the supply of drugs near the Calgary Drop-in Centre.

Justice B. Nixon will be handing down his sentence on March 12.