Police on horseback try to move an unruly crowd in June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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Canucks fans took to the streets and set overturned vehicles ablaze in June

Among the 60 suspected rioters are 50 men and 10 women

Recommended charges include participating in a riot, mischief and break and enter

CNN  — 

Vancouver police said Monday they are recommending 163 charges against 60 people in connection with the riots after the city’s hockey team lost the Stanley Cup.

Thousands of angry fans, fuming over their team’s loss, wreaked havoc across downtown sections of the Canadian city in June.

“It became, by many measures, the largest crime spree in the history of (the province of British Columbia). The statistics are staggering and continue to grow,” Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu said in a statement.

“This is just the beginning as we expect to announce more arrests in the weeks and months ahead,” he said.

Among the 60 suspected rioters are 50 men and 10 women. The top three most common charges being recommended are: participating in a riot, mischief and break and enter, police said.

Speaking in June, Chu blamed “criminals and anarchists” who, he said, disguised themselves as Canucks fans for the riots.

“These were people who came equipped with masks, goggles and gasoline, even fire extinguishers that they would use as weapons,” he said then.

The melee began after the Boston Bruins won their first NHL championship in 39 years, trouncing the Vancouver Canucks 4-0.

Footage from the riot showed city police wading into an unruly crowd that taunted and threw debris at the officers. Vehicles were damaged and some were set ablaze.

The incident echoed a 1994 Vancouver riot after a Stanley Cup loss to the New York Rangers, causing widespread damage that resulted in hundreds of arrests.