HALIFAX - Massive police raids with the potential to cripple
the Hells Angels in Quebec resulted in more than 150 arrests Wednesday
morning.
Co-ordinated raids were under way in Quebec, New Brunswick and
countries including France, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and
the United States.
About 1,500 officers were involved in the Canadian arrests, which
police said stemmed from a three-year investigation. "We've
been at it since early this morning," said RCMP spokesman
Sergeant Claude Tremblay said Wednesday. "Almost all the
members of the Hells Angels in Quebec will be arrested today."
Most of the arrests stemming from Operation Sharqc took place
throughout Quebec. Four others were made in the Dominican Republic,
one in France and five in New Brunswick.
Daniel Guerin, a spokesman for the Montreal-area Laval police
department, said 111 full-patch members were nabbed, while four
others were prospective members. Another 29 were associates of
the criminal organization and 11 were retired bikers.
Many of them were expected to appear in court later on Wednesday.
Charges are expected to include murder, attempted murder and
drugs-related offences. Those arrested may also face prosecution
under anti-terrorism laws, Sgt. Tremblay said, noting that some
of the offences date back to 1992.
Police also seized a quantity of guns and drugs from the suspects
who were allegedly involved in the transport of drugs between
Quebec, the United States and the Maritimes.
"New Brunswick is the corridor to the Maritimes and everything
comes through our highways and we have a lot of small airports
through the region," Sgt. Tremblay said.
"There's a lot of trafficking going on. It's mostly related
to underground crime and a lot of it is run by the Hells Angels."
He said it's difficult to crack down on the Hells Angels because
few people are willing to testify against them.
"It's a very, very difficult task to charge or investigate
anything to do with a crime element such as the Hells Angels,"
he said.
Mr. Guerin said police in Quebec also seized Hells bunkers in
Montreal, Longueuil, Trois-Rivieres, Sherbrooke and Quebec City
as well as the site of the Sorel-Tracy bunker that was recently
set ablaze.
The crackdown was similar to a 2001 operation in which 122 Hells
Angels members and sympathizers were arrested, said Mr. Guerin,
adding Wednesday's busts were nonetheless more significant.
An expert on criminal biker gangs said that raids on the scale
police are describing would be a "huge, huge blow" to
the Hells Angels, with a "devastating impact" on their
image.
"A big part of their image is being invincible," said
Julian Sher, the author of several books on bikers. "The
message has been sent that the Hell Angels have to constantly
look over their shoulders [and wonder] who is the next snitch,
where is the next betrayal coming from."
Mr. Sher said that the gang had more members in Ontario than
in Quebec. But the latter province had a prominent role in the
organization.
"[Quebec] is where they were born in Canada, this is where
they're strongest and this is where they've been most violent,"
he said.
Mr. Sher warned that the gang has shown a remarkable ability
to bounce back in the past.
"The one thing that makes the Hells Angels so powerful is
they're an internationally branded organization. The Hell Angels
brand is as recognizable as Nike or McDonald's."
