Escuadrones insólitos

Escuadrones insólitos (extraordinary squads; singular: escuadrón insólito), colloquially known by the acronym EI(s), are heavily armed paramilitary forces under the control of the British Columbia Cartel, the most powerful drug trafficking organisation in Canada. Each "squad" (escuadrón) consists of ten highly trained (usually male) fighters, equipped primarily with small arms (namely automatic rifles, snipers, pistols, etc.), although a squad will use other weapons as required (including mortars, RPGs, antitank/antiaircraft rockets, Semtex, and IEDs). Squads are used primarily for engagement with police and even military forces and conducting surprise raids/attacks on rival organisations, carrying out clandestine and open operations alike.

All escuadrones insólitos are commanded either by lieutenants of Coba Castro (the cartel leader), or by Castro himself. Squads differ from the sicarios (assassins) of the cartel, who operate either solo or in pairs and are assigned missions intended to be completed "cleanly", and always covertly so as to allow plausible deniability by the cartel (whereas, even silencer-equipped squads operating in the dead of night are perceived by their targets, and succeeding in killing all targets and escaping the scene does nothing to stop the mission from becoming public news immediately afterward). For this reason, all squad uniforms include balaclava, mask and gloves, in order to conceal the individual identities of squad members, the identity of the squads' employer being common knowledge.

British Columbia Cartel squads have been used both within British Columbia and other Canadian provinces (mostly Vancouver Island and Alberta) in violent confrontations with provincial and federal law enforcement, and in Mexico in support of and against several Mexican cartels as well as in confrontations with law enforcement.

The deadliest gunfight involving the escuadrones insólitos ever to happen in Canada took place between 4 and 5 May 2011 near the Vancouver Island city of Courtenay: on the morning of 4 May, deputies of the Vancouver Island Sheriff Service assisted by as many constables of the Vancouver Island Provincial Police attempted to execute a search warrant of a large gated compound off the Old Island Highway, about 10 kilometres north of Courtenay. As suspected by the investigators who had requested the warrant, the compound was not only a major centre of the British Columbia Cartel's criminal operations on Vancouver Island, but also a private residence of Coba Castro himself. Upon arriving at the compound gates, the Undersheriff announced via an intercom system connected with the main house the intent to execute a search warrant of the compound and the legal obligation of all present within the compound to allow entry and in no way obstruct the execution of the search warrant; within a minute, a major deputy sheriff, the passenger in the Undersheriff's cruiser, was killed by a single sniper bullet from within the compound.

The two agencies, which numbered a total of about 80 personnel, immediately proceeded to breach the compound gates and force entry, with the order to detain all within the compound, find and detain Castro, and proceed to execute the search warrant. Within seconds of entering the front gardens of the compound, which in places obscured the main residence further back, the deputies and constables were attacked on three sides by at least three separate squads, killing three deputies and four constables on the spot. The Provincial Police's counterterrorism unit was quickly called in as well as some local units of the army reserve, and after the better part of two days' fighting, the government succeeded in taking control of the compound and subsequently executing the search warrant. However, at least half of the squads involved in the battle managed to escape, as well as Castro and most other senior members present; likely most of the drugs present were successfully removed from the compound, as the search yielded little more than a few ounces of marijuana (some of which was growing in an orchard) and traces of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and benzodiazepines on utensils and scales left behind which had been used for drug trafficking.

Despite a heavy casualty count on both sides (125:144—125 cartel to 68 sheriff's deputies and 76 constables), the battle made little noticeable impact on even the Vancouver Island part of the British Columbia Cartel's business; the Provincial Police and Sheriff Service, however, were quite traumatised by the event, leading to a series of reforms in practice regarding major organised crime.