According to the Mexican newspaper El Universal, B.C. resident Thomas Gisby was shot and killed in a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta north of of Puerto Vallarta.

SURREY, B.C. - A British Columbia gangster who police say had criminal connections across Canada and the world has been shot dead in Mexico.

RCMP Chief Supt. Dan Malo said Thomas Gisby was killed in a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta on Friday night.

He said police are now concerned about retaliation against enemies of the 50-year-old man who was from the Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver.

"We wanted to get our message to the community that this wasn't an individual who was simply on holidays," Malo said Saturday. "This is a well-known target, a well-known organized crime figure here in British Columbia."

Gisby led what police called the Gisby Crime Group, which was well connected to other criminal organizations, although Malo declined to name them.

"He has networks internationally to be able to bring illegal commodities into Canada for distribution," Malo said, adding guns and drugs were among the goods Gisby traded.

Mounties were aware that Gisby had travelled to Mexico, said Malo, who is in charge of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.

"Even though Thomas Gisby, in his own right, thought that he was at a high-enough level in organized crime that he would be isolated from violence, it's clearly not the case."

THE WORLD'S 10 MOST DANGEROUS DESTINATIONS Number of homicides per 100,000 people. Based on UNODC's Global Study of Homicide.

Loading Slideshow

• 10. Zambia - 38.0

  Supporters of Zambia's new President, Michael Sata, gather to see him as he takes the oath of office on the steps of the supreme court in Lusaka, Zambia, Friday Sept 23, 2011. (CP photo) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 9. St. Kitts/Nevis - 38.2

  Photo: Santil/flickr Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 8. U.S. Virgin Islands - 39.1

  Alamy photo. Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a> Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 7. Guatemala - 41.4

  In this picture taken on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, a woman sweeps the floor of a barber shop inGuatemala City. Guatemala City is a place where people live in fear of dire poverty, gang violence and drug trafficking.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 6. Belize - 41.7

  Roberto Pott, 75, nails in the roof of his family's home, watched by his grandson Zeine, 9, hours before the arrival of Hurricane Dean, in BelizeCity, Monday, Aug. 20, 2007. (CP photo) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 5. Venezuela - 49.1

  The body of an unidentified man lies in a pool of blood on a street in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Sept. 8, 2010. Witness at the scene say the man died during a shoot-out with a national police officer, who also died. (CP photo) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 4. Jamaica - 52.1

  In this Saturday May 29, 2010 file photo, a woman carries a baby in the slum Tivoli Gardens, in Kingston, Jamaica. (CP photo) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 3. Ivory Coast - 56.9

  This picture taken on December 5, 2011 shows Abou Kounate who allegedly was wounded during a pro-Gbagbo attack on March 17, in Abobo, a pro-Ouattara neighborhood of Abidjan. (Getty photo) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 2. El Salvador - 66.0

  Mayan priests make offerings during an indigenous ceremony commemorating the winter solstice at the ceremonial center of San Andres, in San Andres, El Salvador, Sunday Dec 18. 2011. (AP photo) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>

• 1. Honduras - 82.1

  In this Oct. 5, 2011 photo, the bodies of three people, who police allege are gang members who were killed by unidentified assailants, are inspected by a forensic team in the village of Los Hornos, Honduras, 20 kilometers (13 miles) south of Tegucigalpa. (AP photo) Source: <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf" target="_hplink">United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime</a>