Hells Angels on the warpath in Canada?

[DyNasty]

This was posted in the Edmonton Alberta papers recently... The Bandidos have set up shop in Albertas' capitol in the last few months. Word is- They don't want another war like in Quebec.


A group of men were trying to get into a building linked to the Hells Angels just 20 minutes before two trucks parked outside were riddled with bullets Tuesday.

Two pickup trucks were shot up outside a property owned by Moonshine Welding at 22333 67 St. around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Earlier a group of native males tried to force their way in, said a man who was in the neighbourhood at the time and is too afraid to have his name printed.

There were three native guys hammering on the door and shouting a lot of swear words, said the witness. Then 20 minutes later - boom-boom-boom-boom.

Police spokesman Dean Parthenis said it's too soon to say if there is a link between the men and the shooting or if the shooting had anything to do with the club.

Police said there were four men in the building at the time of the shooting but none were hurt. The shots were fired from a car which sped off west on Yellowhead Trail.

The apartment above the old welding shop was raided by cops in May 1998. They found a loaded .38-calibre revolver, a set of Hells Angels colours, ammunition and money.

National RCMP biker gang expert Staff Sgt. Jean-Pierre Levesque said he doesn't believe it has anything to do with any other groups such as the Bandidos but could be just a personal fight among individuals.

[Friar Tuck]

Like another night down the Pub then!

Er, language barrier time- what's a native man? Is it a misprint? should've that been " naked"? (just so that TG doesn't get all uneccesarily excited!)

[DyNasty]

Like another night down the Pub then!

Er, language barrier time- what's a native man? Is it a misprint? should've that been " naked"? (just so that TG doesn't get all uneccesarily excited!)

Native man: Injun....

[Huw Beer Monster]

Native man: Injun....

Honest? ;)

[DyNasty]

Yup! :cool:

[Santa]

Do the Angels ride bikes over there, or do they mostly travel in white vans like they do over here? :rolleyes:

[DyNasty]

Over here, they usually drive Caddilacs' or Porches...
Unless they are on "official business, then it's a HD.

When travelling, they ride as a pack, with a chase vehicle (cube van or hauler).
Bandidos are the same....

[Friar Tuck]

You'll be telling us that they are bank managers or stock brokers next!

[DyNasty]

You'll be telling us that they are bank managers or stock brokers next!

Well, in a certain aspect, they are definately managers...
I have heard that the richest chapters of the HA are in British Columbia...
Warm weather and good growing season....
http://www.police.delta.bc.ca/Images/grow2.jpg
Most of the growing is done indoors though...

[DyNasty]

A bit of a read but... Some insight

Hells Angels Not Confronted, Says Author

Julian Sher, whose Road to Hell tracks the gang's Canadian rise, believes we all underestimated them.
Tue., Apr. 27, 2004

By Scott Deveau




TheTyee.ca

The influence of organized crime in B.C. has never been greater. Last month, the RCMP revealed five of its nine national priority investigations this year will be conducted in the Lower Mainland. The police identified the Hells Angels as one of their key targets.

Yet the growing importance of organized criminals, who control a signficant portion of B.C. $6 billion marijuana industry and are entrenched in B.C. ports, has only recently been confronted, according to author Julian Sher, who spoke recently with The Tyee.

Sher and co-author William Marsden's The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangs are Conquering Canada has become the definitive account of how the Hells Angels went from, as Sher describes them, a rag-tag group of good-old boys to the number-one organized-crime gang in the country.

The Road to Hell recounts how the Angels brand-marketed their name, took control of nation's ports and the drug and sex trades. The book is now being used in courtrooms and by police as a guide to the inner workings of the gang in Canada.

Last week, the book was used by the defense lawyer in a Montreal murder trial, during cross-examination of a Crown witness. Both lawyers signed the book after the day's proceedings. The defense lawyer wrote that he got more disclosure from Sher's book than he did from the Crown. The prosecutor drew an arrow on the opposing page and wrote, "Not true, but it was a good read."

The Tyee, which has excerpted one chapter in the Angels' B.C. exploits, interviewed Sher by telephone from his home in Montreal.


How has the Hells Angels' power grown over the past 20 years?

They've grown from a rag-tag group of bikers, who were involved in some crime but were basically a group of good-old boys, into one of Canada's and one the world's leading international crime organizations. In Canada, they went from having no members in 1977 to having an estimated 550 members and close associates and more than 30 chapters across the country.

What spawned that growth?

On one level it was just that they have hot name-recognition with anyone who has heard of the Hell's Angels — it's like Nike — and in that name recognition there is a sort of sexiness. It is seen as crime, but at the same time it's seen as cool and hip. Any kind of bad boy would want the sex appeal of joining the Hells Angels.
I think another factor is that they were also largely ignored and underestimated by the police and by the
public and by politicians. There was a sense of "Well, okay. Yeah, they're bikers and they are going to get into some trouble, but we don't have to watch them that carefully." In our book, we quote several police officers who say that it was largely their fault for ignoring the bikers for so long.

The third factor is that they have a very unique structure that lets them expand. On the one hand they have all the advantages of the network — a brand-name-type structure and the sharing of information. But they also have a very insular, cellular structure, so that if a problem arises, as it did in Halifax [where the chapter has been effectively wiped-out] and Quebec [where its leaders are behind bars], it doesn't affect the rest of the country.

The flip side of that is that the police were not coordinated and did not cooperate, so you had that
problem as well.

How has the range of their activities evolved?

Originally, a lot the bikers would just do enforcement for the mafia, like beat up people, and they would also be the gophers for distributors of cocaine and illegal drugs. But as they graduated, they took on a much more important role in the drug trade in actually bringing in the drugs through Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax, cooperating with the mafia or doing it independently. So much so, that by the mid-'90s, they were making millions of dollars a week in the drug trade in Montreal.

They were also successful in taking over part of the sex trade in British Columbia. Hells Angels members run some of the stripper agencies and clubs. And then they branched out. For example, in Montreal, hash is very big, so they are involved in the hash that moves through the port in Montreal, while in B.C., it's the grow-ops.

Was it situational that they started taking a more active role?

No, it's a very conscious growth strategy. Certain individuals decide "we must control this part of the trade because it's very lucrative." How does Chrysler become the number-one car company? How does Nike become the number-one shoe company? You do it through ruthless expansion into new markets and ruthless elimination of competitors.

Who were their competitors and how did they get rid of them?

In Quebec, it meant literally the elimination through bombings and murders of more than 150 competitors. If you're dead, you can't sell drugs in the Hells Angels territory. In Ontario, it was done through a massive takeover. They just swallowed up over 200 members of rival gangs.

In B.C., it was done through car bombings and drive-by shootings to get rid of some Russian competition. But overall, in B.C., they haven't had to resort to violence because there's enough of territory for everyone to operate in. Also, they were able to carve out an agreement with the Indo-Canadian and Asian gangs.

Are there statistics to show how much of the drug trade is controlled by the Hells Angels?

No, it's hard to put a number on it, but the police consider the Hells Angels to be the number-one organized crime group across the country. They are the only gang that has a national presence. The Hells Angels have a presence in every city, and we've never had that before.

How much control do the Hells Angels have over our ports in Vancouver, Montreal, and Halifax?

Well it's a huge part of our mosaic. Any criminal realizes that the best way to bring drugs into the country is through the ports, because you can bring in huge amounts compared to the small amounts you can bring in a car or with a passenger in an airplane.

By Canada's own admission only three per cent of the shipments are actually checked. The Hells Angels realized this and have members working in the Vancouver ports and close associates working in Montreal and Halifax. In fact, the auditor-general's most recent report estimates that something like 4,000 people with ties to Canada's biker gangs and other gangs work at the country's major ports and airports.

What are the differences between American and Canadian anti-gang laws?

The Americans have somewhat stiffer anti-racketeering laws. The main thing the Americans have that Canadians don't is heavier mandatory sentencing, which creates a bigger incentive to squeal and deal. They can squeeze a little guy to squeal on his boss if he's looking at a lot more jail time.



How much has the book been used as a guide to the inner-workings of the Hells Angels?

I don't go into a city without police officers coming up to me and saying they've read the book and they can't say enough about it. It's because the experiences of departments across the countries are not shared, so they are devouring the book. Even within the province. There are some B.C. cops that don't know about the great work that has been done by other biker cops in the province.

Do you hear anything from the Hells Angels?

No, we've heard from sources that they are less than pleased, obviously. Apparently they are reading, but I haven't heard anything else.

[mr.chaz]

Sounds no different than what our corrupt governments around the world are doing too. It's just that they wear suits to do it and get voted in by hapless "Joe Public".

I can't just see where this thread's going... or why? :confused:

[100%Pat]

I agree, there is so much propaganda given out on both sides, I know all I do is take folk as I find them and the HA I have met have always treated me with respect & courtesy and I offer them the same . People are people. regardless of whether they wear colours or not.

[defarter]

Been to a lot of rallys over the years run by the HA, Kent custom, Crazydays, Bulldog, never had any problems at all, just had sh*te load of fun and made lots of new friends. Went out with a friend a couple of weeks ago to get his bike fixed at a local Harley shop and there where 3 HA members there, never met or seen these guys befor but for the next hour or so we had a really good laugh with these guys and they where very open to questions asked about the club, so live and let live, show a little bit of respect on the way and you will always get that respect returned. ;)

Just my little brain & thoughts. :D

[Rogue Monkey]

I fully support defarter! Never had any problems from the HA, quite the contrary!