A Prince George criminal linked to the Game Tight Soldiers gang has not yet been deported to South Africa despite a Jan. 31 deadline to leave the country. Francois Meerholz, 23, remains in Prince George because the South African government has yet to issue a travel document so the convicted criminal can return to the country of his birth.
VANCOUVER — A Prince George criminal linked to the Game Tight Soldiers gang has not yet been deported to South Africa despite a Jan. 31 deadline to leave the country.
Francois Meerholz, 23, remains in Prince George because the South African government has yet to issue a travel document so the convicted criminal can return to the country of his birth.
The Canada Border Services Agency refused to comment on the status of Meerholz, except to say they would confirm when he was removed from Canada.
Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass said Meerholz has not had any police contact since being released on a $5,000 bond by the immigration board last month.
But The Vancouver Sun has learned that the hold-up in getting documents has delayed Meerholz's departure.
Douglass said earlier that Meerholz is a senior member of the GTS gang who police say controls the street-level drug trade in Prince George. He also has links to the Renegade biker gang, which is a puppet club of the Hells Angels.
He was already out on bail on seven firearms charges when he was picked up by the CBSA earlier this month on an outstanding deportation order.
He was already out on bail on seven firearms charges when he was picked up by the CBSA earlier this month on an outstanding deportation order.
Two weeks ago, Immigration Board member Daphne Shaw Dyck said Meerholz could return to Prince George with his fiancee and brother on several conditions, including the bond.
The CBSA representative had asked for Meerholz to be held in custody because of earlier breaches of court-ordered conditions.
Meerholz, 23, came to Canada with his younger brother in 1999 to live with relatives.
But they ended up in the foster care system and Meerholz was soon before the courts.
After convictions for theft and possession of stolen property in 2007, Meerholz was ordered deported in November 2008.
The federal government agreed to give the young man another chance in March 2009 by staying his deportation for 18 months as long as he lived by a number of conditions, including "not commit any criminal offences," and "if charged with a criminal offence, immediately report that fact in writing" to the CBSA.
But Meerholz repeatedly violated the conditions — getting both convictions and new charges — and the removal order was reinstated.
In October 2009 — six months after getting his second change to stay in Canada — Meerholz was arrested on a series of firearms charges, including possession of a restricted weapon, careless use of a firearm and two counts of occupying a vehicle in which there was a firearm.
He was also charged last summer with impaired driving and flight from a peace officer.
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