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Poker champ charged in Surrey 6 slayings

B.C. poker champion faces manslaughter charge

Last Updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | 5:24 PM PT

CBC News

Sophon Sek won more than $364,000 in a poker championship Sunday, the day before he was arrested on manslaughter and breaking and entering charges. (Great Canadian Gaming)

A man arrested Monday in connection with a mass slaying in Surrey, B.C., had just won a huge poker jackpot.

Sophon Sek has been charged with manslaughter and breaking and entering in connection with the deaths of six men in a Surrey highrise in October 2007.

On Sunday, Sek won the $364,364 grand prize in the B.C. Poker Championship at the River Rock casino in Richmond, although the police have asked the casino to hold Sek's winnings.

Cpl. Dale Carr of the RCMP homicide investigation team declined to explain how Sek's charges relate to those against four other men accused in the killings, saying the information will have to come out in court.

Four men are accused of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. A fifth man, Dennis Karbovanec, has pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.

Could be more arrests

Among the six men killed were Christopher Mohan, who lived in the highrise, and fireplace repairman Ed Schellenberg, both described by police as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sek, 30, was handed a ceremonial winning cheque but police have asked the casino not to pay him. (Great Canadian Gaming)

The four other victims were connected to the drug trade, police said.

Carr said the investigation continues and there could be more arrests.

Sek, 30, is in custody and is scheduled to appear again in Surrey provincial court on Monday.

With files from The Canadian Press

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