VVT

From Rap Dictionary

Valvettithurai aka VVT

The VVT is a Tamil crime syndicate and organized street gang from Toronto, Canada which was founded by Hindu Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka in the early 1990s. This gang is named after "Valvettithurai", a northern Sri Lankan town which is the birthplace of the LTTE and its leader, Prabhakaran. Immigration authorities contend that the VVT was made up by a group of military-trained terrorists from who help raise money for the LTTE. The VVT had a strong presence in the west end of Toronto (in particular in Etobicoke), certain areas in Old Toronto, East York and also in the western boundaries of Scarborough. They were regarded as being very business savvy and motivated by the profits of crime with members ranging in age from their early teenage years to men in their 30s. In the mid to late 1990's and early 2000's the VVT had an ongoing war with another powerful Tamil street gang called the AK Kannan based out of Scarborough [1]. There was a brief truce in 1998 after community members brokered a peace deal in a Richmond Hill Hindu temple, but a homicide a year later renewed the fighting, until the infamous police raids in 2001 [2]. Unlike their rivals, the VVT have multiple leaders who represent their respective territories through out the GTA, Waterloo, Hamilton, Ottawa and Montreal. All of the leadership, as well as its members, were Hindu Tamils born in Sri Lanka while most members of their rivals, the AK Kannan, were born and raised Canadians. Even after the deportation of some prominent members, Authorities believe the VVT is still in operation through Canadian born Tamils choosing to adopt and represent the VVT's namesake. Police also believe VVT members have been traditionally known to be heavily involved in drug trafficking, human smuggling, fraud, weapon trafficking, counterfeiting and extortion. They are rivals of the AK Kannan, Silver Boys and Tuxedo Boys but are friendly towards the Gilder Boys.