When Nguyen was finally released, he would be dead six months later in a chilling ambush, caught on video. “Information indicates that you currently have a ‘hit’ in your life,” reads part of the parole order issued in December 2020. “You have shown that you will use violence and/or retaliate without hesitation and it is a definite possibility that you may have to deal with this blow against you one way or another.” Nguyen was fatally shot in his Langdon, Alta., driveway in October, six months after serving time for conspiracy to kill a rival gangster. His sister-in-law was also injured in the shooting.
“Number 1 in power”
In 2018, Nguyen was sentenced to 10½ years in prison for his second, unsuccessful plot to kill a rival gangster, Vinh Tung Truong, also known as Fat Vinh. With credit for time already served, Nguyen had 3 ½ years on his sentence. Before he was sentenced in 2018, Nguyen told the judge he was ready to turn his life around. He said he plans to “stay on the right track, stay away from crime, criminals and be a contributing member of society.” But in prison, Nguyen was the leader of a gang known by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) as security threat groups (STGs). “You were seen as the ‘number one’ in power for a security threat group … and stockpiled weapons with the intention of exterminating other rival gangs,” the ruling said.
“Main pipeline” in prison for drugs
Despite being incarcerated, Nguyen’s influence “reached far into the community” as well as provincial and other prisons stretching from Saskatchewan to B.C., the board wrote. Nguyen was considered “the main conduit in the facility” for drugs and other contraband through the use of drones, visitors and returning inmates, according to evidence presented at his hearing. “It is also noted that you stockpiled weapons and made work and housing arrangements for the parolees,” the board wrote. According to his prison records, Nguyen was involved in 11 intelligence and smuggling incidents. The case management team assigned to Nguyen deemed him “particularly successful” in bypassing prison security. Nguyen’s most recent stint in prison was his second stint for trying to kill Truong, and it was the second time the board has kept him in prison until the end of his sentence. Federal law dictates that inmates serve the last third of their sentence in the community, often on parole, in order to re-acclimate to life outside. But in cases where an offender poses an unreasonable risk to the community, the council can keep the prisoner until the end of his sentence. Nguyen was found to have a very high risk of re-offending violently. A video of two gunmen ambushing Trong Minh Nguyen was briefly posted online in the days after the fatal shooting. Nguyen was killed six months after his release from prison. (thedirty.com) On April 22, when Nguyen was released at the end of his sentence, the RCMP issued a warning to the public, including revealing the area of southern Alberta where the gangster would live. On Oct. 7, a neighborhood security video posted on a website shows two men with guns approaching Nguyen’s vehicle as it pulled into his driveway on Langdon. The gunmen opened fire, killing Nguyen and injuring a passenger. The video has since been removed. “We think it was tragic that this video reached the mainstream media as it was shocking and disturbing to many. The RCMP feels for the family that the video was leaked.” No arrests have been made, but the investigation is considered “active” and Mounties are asking anyone with information to contact the RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
FOB vs FK war
Nguyen became involved in organized crime as a teenager. He and his family of eight moved to Canada when he was six years old. He had been dealing drugs since high school. Before long, Nguyen was a high-ranking member of the FOB gang. FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) and rival gangs FK (FOB Killers) were responsible for a bloody street war that left at least 25 people dead between 2002 and 2009. At one point, Nguyen was one of the largest cocaine suppliers in the city, the board wrote. “You have been a trafficker of ‘multi-pound’ cocaine for the street gang since 2001,” the board noted.
“Gang Back Story”
In 2006 Nguyen shot several times at Truong who survived. He served every day of his six-year sentence and was released in 2011. The next year he decided to try to kill Truong again. A police informant foiled his plan and Nguyen was convicted of conspiracy to murder. At sentencing, Nguyen’s family played a role in the judge’s consideration of mitigating factors. The court heard the family had moved provinces for Nguyen in the hope of making a fresh start. At his parole hearing, Nguyen spoke of wanting to go back to school, go back to church and start a Vietnamese food business with his brother. But as the board wrote in its decision, Nguyen had a “history of returning to gangs.” “You are in a leadership position in the gang community,” the board wrote, noting that Nguyen had “tremendous influence that went beyond the walls of the institution and into the community.”
