Burnaby has started a formal investigation into a local firefighters motorcycle club linked to the Hells Angels, city manager Lambert Chu said Wednesday.
Chu said the investigation follows Postmedia revelations about the Florian’s Knights attending events with the notorious biker gang.
Postmedia also obtained a recent photo of one of the Knights’ founders, Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, posing with Kelowna Hells Angels president Damiano Dipopolo and two other full-patch HA members.
Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, right, poses with members of the Hells Angels.
Elmes said he and other firefighters founded the Knights to go on charitable rides and raise funds for various causes. He said there should be no reason for the public to be concerned about his club.
But he also admitted he advised the Hells Angels before starting the Knights because his group is using the same style three-piece patch on their leather vests that the HA wears and exercises proprietorial rights over.
Three-piece “patch” of new firefighters biker club called Florian’s Knights
Earlier this year, Elmes and another man purchased a house in the 5400-block Parker Street in North Burnaby for $1.65 million to serve as the Knights’ clubhouse.
Chu said he has “put together an investigation team to look into this matter.”
While the city had some details about the formation of the Knights several months ago, Postmedia’s stories provided additional information of concern, Chu said.“The information you had in your two stories that you wrote shed additional light on this matter,” Chu said. “It is of tremendous concern to the city and to the city organization. That’s why we are undertaking a full investigation.”
He said a city lawyer is on the newly formed committee.
Burnaby Fire Chief Joe Robertson said earlier this week that he had raised concerns about some of the Knights wearing their biker vests known as “colours” as they rode to work. He said he got a legal opinion indicating there was nothing he could do about it at the time.
Chu said that city workers have “freedom of choice to wear certain clothing to work, so we have to make sure that we get all the legal grounds covered.”
“The fire chief at that time took it upon himself and spoke with the individual and he said this organization is doing all the charitable activities and doing a ride and doing good for the communities,” Chu said. “So there was no evidence whatever to suggest that there was even a loose connection between the Flroians’ Knights with the Hells Angels.”
But biker experts with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit have been documenting the association between the Knights and the Hells Angels at various “rides” this spring.
CFSEU Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said those officers have “had direct conversations with members of the Florian’s Knights regarding their associations with the Hells Angels.”
Chu said the city’s investigation will involve interviewing people, obtaining information from the RCMP and doing “a little bit of fact-finding.”
They hope to conclude the investigation within a few days, he said.
Three of Florian’s Knights are Burnaby firefighters, two are with the New Westminster Fire Department and one is a retired Vancouver firefighter, Postmedia has learned.
Burnaby has started a formal investigation into a local firefighters motorcycle club linked to the Hells Angels, city manager Lambert Chu said Wednesday.
Chu said the investigation follows Postmedia revelations about the Florian’s Knights attending events with the notorious biker gang.
Postmedia also obtained a recent photo of one of the Knights’ founders, Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, posing with Kelowna Hells Angels president Damiano Dipopolo and two other full-patch HA members.
Burnaby firefighter NIck Elmes, right, with members of the Hells Angels
Elmes said he and other firefighters founded the Knights to go on charitable rides and raise funds for various causes. He said there should be no reason for the public to be concerned about his club.
But he also admitted he advised the Hells Angels before starting the Knights because his group is using the same style three-piece patch on their leather vests that the HA wears and exercises proprietorial rights over.
Earlier this year, Elmes and another man purchased a house in the 5400-block Parker Street in North Burnaby for $1.65 million to serve as the Knights’ clubhouse.
Chu said he has “put together an investigation team to look into this matter.”
Three-piece “patch” of new firefighters biker club called Florian’s Knights
While the city had some details about the formation of the Knights several months ago, Postmedia’s stories provided additional information of concern, Chu said.“The information you had in your two stories that you wrote shed additional light on this matter,” Chu said. “It is of tremendous concern to the city and to the city organization. That’s why we are undertaking a full investigation.”
He said a city lawyer is on the newly formed committee.
Burnaby Fire Chief Joe Robertson said earlier this week that he had raised concerns about some of the Knights wearing their biker vests known as “colours” as they rode to work. He said he got a legal opinion indicating there was nothing he could do about it at the time.
Chu said that city workers have “freedom of choice to wear certain clothing to work, so we have to make sure that we get all the legal grounds covered.”
“The fire chief at that time took it upon himself and spoke with the individual and he said this organization is doing all the charitable activities and doing a ride and doing good for the communities,” Chu said. “So there was no evidence whatever to suggest that there was even a loose connection between the Flroians’ Knights with the Hells Angels.”
But biker experts with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit have been documenting the association between the Knights and the Hells Angels at various “rides” this spring.
CFSEU Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said those officers have “had direct conversations with members of the Florian’s Knights regarding their associations with the Hells Angels.”
Chu said the city’s investigation will involve interviewing people, obtaining information from the RCMP and doing “a little bit of fact-finding.”
They hope to conclude the investigation within a few days, he said.
Three of Florian’s Knights are Burnaby firefighters, two are with the New Westminster Fire Department and one is a retired Vancouver firefighter, Postmedia has learned.
B.C.’s anti-gang agency says a new Metro Vancouver firefighters biker club with links to the Hells Angels raises serious issues.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said Tuesday that the decision by some firefighters to form the Florian’s Knights and associate with the notorious biker gang puts themselves and other first responders at risk.
“The Hells Angels have a longtime involvement in both illegal marijuana grow operations and synthetic drug clandestine labs. This is troubling as well, given the dangers they pose to first responders, and firefighters in particular,” Winpenny said.
“The decision by a small group of firefighters to support a criminal organization involved in activities that endanger their brother and sister firefighters is concerning. By associating with the Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcycle gangs, they are potentially putting themselves and others at risk.”
Advanced Minister Melanie Mark with Florian’s Knights at May 10th MLA ride of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists. Knights founder Nick Elmes is to the left of Mark.
Winpenny said CFSEU officers have spoken to some in the Knights to express the concerns of law enforcement.
Postmedia revealed Tuesday that some local firefighters had formed Florian’s Knights and attended charity rides and other events with the Hells Angels.
Knights founder Nick Elmes also posed for a photo with three Hells Angels.
Elmes defended his organization, saying they formed to do charity work and can’t help it if the Hells Angels attend some of the same public events.
But he admitted that he advised the Angels when he was forming his club and let them know the Knights would be adopting a three-piece patch for their leather vest — something police say can only be done with HA permission.
Winpenny said the events are not open to the public, as Elmes claimed.
“This is inaccurate and both presence and participation at these events, whether it’s funerals, OMG-sanctioned rides, or other rides are often the result of an invitation and represent support for the Hells Angels,” she said. “Money raised at these events flows to the Hells Angels.”
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he has asked his staff to look into the issues raised by having public servants associating with a group the government considers a criminal organization.
Last month, Florian’s Knights attended a rally in Victoria as part of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists.
Elmes and others in his group were photographed with Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark outside the B.C. Legislature.
Mark said in a statement that she “certainly had no reason to think that there would be anyone in attendance who associates with a criminal organization.”
“Anyone who associates with gangs and organized crime is putting themselves and their friends and families at risk,” Mark said. “We’re following up with the organizers to raise concerns.”
The BCCOM has held the MLA ride for 26 years.
Meanwhile, Postmedia has learned that the Knights have recently opened a clubhouse in North Burnaby.
Elmes and another member bought the house in the 5400-block Parker Street in January for $1.65 million, B.C. property records show.
Elmes advertised on Facebook in March hat his biker club would be hosting an event on the last Thursday of every month at the house, though he said people had to direct message him to get the address.
Suit of armour inside the Florian’s Knights clubhouse posted on Facebook
Elmes owns a second residence in North Burnaby a few blocks away from the new clubhouse, assessed this year for $1.76 million.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for an interview about his group’s relationship with the Knights.
Hells Angels expert Brad Stephen, a retired Vancouver police officer and one-time firefighter, said in an interview that firefighters are held in high regard in the community and that the Knights are damaging that reputation.
“There is a high degree of public trust and public respect that is bestowed upon your position as a firefighter in the community. You are required to respond to rescues, respond to medical emergencies in the middle of the night. You go into people’s homes. You go into people’s businesses. You are often required to go into secure facilities and you are exposed to confidential scenarios and confidential information,” Stephen said. “You work hand in hand with police agencies …. all of sudden now there is a group of firefighters who have decided to form the Florian’s Knights and to ingratiate themselves with the Hells Angels.”
A second investigation has been launched into the conduct of a firefighter biker club with links to the Hells Angels, New Westminster’s fire chief said Thursday.
Tim Armstrong said his department is investigating the conduct of two New West firefighters who joined with three Burnaby firefighters and a retired Vancouver employee to form the Florian’s Knights, a motorcycle club that has been associating with the Hells Angels.
Earlier this week, Burnaby formed a committee to look at the conduct of its municipal employees who are part of the Knights.
Armstrong said New Westminster city officials are concerned about the potential harm to the community’s confidence in the fire department.
“It is definitely a concern to myself on behalf of our department and the city,” Armstrong said. “We are doing our own investigation and, from what I understand, the RCMP are investigating this group as well.”
Armstrong said he only learned about the Knights this week when Postmedia reported that the firefighter bikers had been on rides with the Hells Angels.
“This is all very new to me too as well. I don’t have a lot of insight into the whole organized crime issue. But definitely we don’t condone that type of activity within our department,” he said. “The members of our department hold themselves in high regard within the community as public servants and I think we are all troubled with the potential for any loss of confidence within the organization.”
The Knights founder, Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, posed recently for a photo with the Kelowna Hells Angels president, Damiano Dipopolo, and three other full-patch Hells Angels. And Elmes bought a North Burnaby house with another man that’s being used at the Knights clubhouse.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said Thursday that his investigation is also looking into the operation of a clubhouse in a residential neighbourhood.
Burnaby house that is believed to be used as the Florian’s Knights clubhouse.
“I am always concerned if any department in the city is in a position of drawing unwanted attention as a result of the activities of some members,” Corrigan said. “We have an obligation to make sure that we respond promptly and that we commence an investigation quickly and we’ve done that.”
He said interviews with interested parties have started and that the city has consulted lawyers to clarify what it “can and can’t do.”
“There are real limits on what an employer can do about someone’s life outside of their employment,” Corrigan said. “But the negative reflection on the city and the negative reflection on the fire department is something I think everyone across the board is concerned about and wants to alleviate as quickly as possible.”
Corrigan said he doesn’t understand why the Knights would hang around with the notorious biker gang. Three Hells Angels chapters are currently battling in court with the B.C. government over allegations theirs is a criminal organization and should have to forfeit three clubhouses. That civil trial recently adjourned until the fall.
“It seems rather naive to think that you can have this association with the Hells Angels and not be hurt by it. I am surprised that anyone would put themselves in that position given the high regard that is held for firefighters and their reputation in the community,” Corrigan said.
Burnaby’s investigation will look at the depth of the Knights relationship with the Hells Angels and whether there are security concerns raised by it.
“I think we are going to investigate exactly what level of engagement there is, and whether there is any of those potential issues that we should be concerned about, if this goes beyond kind of a naive infatuation to an area where it could be problematic,” Corrigan said. “I think all of us are all aware that gang infiltration into organizations is a huge problem in our society.”
Karen Leach beat a series of charges two weeks ago when her son pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and firearms counts and the Crown dropped its case against the Coquitlam senior, her daughter and grandson.
But Leach is still before the courts as the government tries to get her long-time Coquitlam residence forfeited as an instrument of illegal activity.
When Leach’s house on Cortes Avenue was raided by the RCMP in June 2017, investigators seized $700,000 in Canadian and U.S. cash, six firearms and 2,000 fentanyl pills.
Her son Andrew, who was sentenced in B.C. provincial court on May 25 to 16 years in jail for leading a fentanyl trafficking operation, didn’t live in the family home where his drug proceeds were stashed.
That is why his sister Rhonda, nephew Marcus and his mother were all originally charged as being part of his operation.
And while the criminal charges were stayed against the relatives on May 15, the director of civil forfeiture’s suit continues to want the family home, Andrew Leach’s Coquitlam condo and several vehicles forfeited to the government.
The suit alleges the house, currently assessed at $893,000, and the vehicles “are instruments and proceeds of unlawful activity.”
The court documents said the house “has been used by the defendants to engage in unlawful activities” including some that “were likely to cause serious bodily harm.”
“The defendants did not and do not have sufficient legitimate income to have acquired and maintained the real property and the vehicles,” the director of civil forfeiture alleged. “Each of the defendants knew or ought to have known the manner in which the real property and the vehicles were being used.”
The crimes linked to the house are trafficking and storage and production of controlled substances, possession of the proceeds of crime, laundering the proceeds of unlawful activity, credit card fraud, and unsafe storage of firearms, the forfeiture claim says.
In her response, Leach, who is 70, denied participating in criminal activity or having any knowledge of others linked to criminal activity in her house.
She also said she “has no knowledge of the items located and seized by the RCMP at the Cortes Avenue property.”
But an agreed statement of facts read at her 34-year-old son’s sentencing said four firearms were found inside Karen Leach’s bedroom closet, including a Cobray M-11 machine pistol with an oversized magazine and readily accessible ammunition, a Winchester Model 1200 police 12-gauge shotgun, a Glock pistol with an unloaded oversized magazine and a second magazine containing 17 rounds of ammunition, and a loaded Glock 23 containing 15 rounds.
The senior also had a silencer, a scope and 2,000 fentanyl pills in the closet.
In her 40-year-old daughter’s bedroom, police found $450,270 under the bed. In grandson Marcus’s room, another $224,089 was found, as will as 9 mm ammunition.
In the family’s TV room, police found a box labelled “Andrew’s counter,” which contained a money counting machine. They also seized over 1,000 Xanax pills.
Two more pistols, both with destroyed serial numbers, were found in the house’s garage, wrapped in tea towels, along with more ammunition and a second silencer.
The director also wants Andrew Leach’s condo, assessed at $237,000, forfeited.
Andrew Leach was charged after a year-long undercover investigation by Coquitlam RCMP into a fentanyl drug-trafficking organization.
A young man killed in Chilliwack Thursday was the younger brother of long-time gangster Clayton Eheler, Postmedia has learned.
Nicholas Cross, 25, was found unresponsive in the 45000-block of Wellington Avenue about 5 a.m. Thursday.
Cpl. Frank Jang, of the Integrated Homicide Investigations Team, said police arrived to find “a man dead with injuries consistent with homicide inside the home.”
“IHIT was called in and has taken conduct of the investigation,” Jang said. “IHIT is working closely with its partners from the Chilliwack RCMP, the Integrated Forensic Identification Services and the B.C. Coroner’s Service to gather evidence.”
He said Cross was “known to police and associated to drug activity.”
“It is still early in the investigation but we believe Mr. Cross was targeted for murder,” he said.
His older brother has been in the news a fair amount after his arrest in a major drug trafficking case in 2015. And he was close to Independent Soldiers member James Riach, visiting him the Philippines shortly before Riach’s arrest there. Riach was sentenced earlier this year to life in prison.
Eheler was also once charged with shooting United Nations gangster Ciaran D’Monte in 2006 in Chilliwack, but later acquitted. The shooting was believed to be in response to the near-fatal shooting of Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon in Abbotsford hours earlier. Bacon survived only to be killed in Kelowna five years later. Riach was with Bacon at the time, but uninjured in the shooting.
Anyone with information about Cross’s murder is asked to contact IHIT at 1-877-551- 4448 or ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
Eheler lost another brother, Dylan, when he was killed by a train in Surrey in 2011.
Two weeks ago, I covered the sentencing of fentanyl trafficker Andrew Leach, who peddled tens of thousands of fake Oxy pills over a year.
He was sentenced to 16 years in jail. As part of his plea deal, the Crown stayed charges against his co-accused, mom Karen Leach, sister Rhonda Leach and nephew Marcus Leach.
But the director of civil forfeiture wants the Leach family home in Coquitlam forfeited as an instrument of crime.
Karen Leach beat a series of charges two weeks ago when her son pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and firearms counts and the Crown dropped its case against the Coquitlam senior, her daughter and grandson.
But Leach is still before the courts as the government tries to get her long-time Coquitlam residence forfeited as an instrument of illegal activity.
When Leach’s house on Cortes Avenue was raided by the RCMP in June 2017, investigators seized $700,000 in Canadian and U.S. cash, six firearms and 2,000 fentanyl pills.
Her son Andrew, who was sentenced in B.C. provincial court on May 25 to 16 years in jail for leading a fentanyl trafficking operation, didn’t live in the family home where his drug proceeds were stashed.
That is why his sister Rhonda, nephew Marcus and his mother were all originally charged as being part of his operation.
And while the criminal charges were stayed against the relatives, the director of civil forfeiture continues to want the family home, Andrew Leach’s Coquitlam condo and several vehicles forfeited to the government.
The suit alleges the house, currently assessed at $893,000, and the vehicles “are instruments and proceeds of unlawful activity.”
The court documents said the house “has been used by the defendants to engage in unlawful activities” including some that “were likely to cause serious bodily harm.”
“The defendants did not and do not have sufficient legitimate income to have acquired and maintained the real property and the vehicles,” the director of civil forfeiture alleged. “Each of the defendants knew or ought to have known the manner in which the real property and the vehicles were being used.”
The crimes linked to the house are trafficking, storage and production of controlled substances, possession of the proceeds of crime, laundering the proceeds of unlawful activity, credit card fraud, and unsafe storage of firearms, the forfeiture claim says.
In her response, Leach, who is 70, denied participating in criminal activity or having any knowledge of others linked to criminal activity in her house.
She also said she “has no knowledge of the items located and seized by the RCMP at the Cortes Avenue property.”
But an agreed statement of facts read at her 34-year-old son’s sentencing said four firearms were found inside Karen Leach’s bedroom closet, including a Cobray M-11 machine pistol with an oversized magazine and readily accessible ammunition, a Winchester Model 1200 police 12-gauge shotgun, a Glock pistol with an unloaded oversized magazine and a second magazine containing 17 rounds of ammunition, and a loaded Glock 23 containing 15 rounds.
Cobray M11 machine pistol
The senior also had a silencer, a scope and 2,000 fentanyl pills in the closet.
In her 40-year-old daughter’s bedroom, police found $450,270 under the bed. In grandson Marcus’s room, another $224,089 was found, as will as 9 mm ammunition.
In the family’s TV room, police found a box labelled “Andrew’s counter,” which contained a money counting machine. They also seized over 1,000 Xanax pills.
Two more pistols, both with destroyed serial numbers, were found in the house’s garage, wrapped in tea towels, along with more ammunition and a second silencer.
The director also wants Andrew Leach’s condo, assessed at $237,000, forfeited.
Andrew Leach was charged after a year-long undercover investigation by Coquitlam RCMP into a fentanyl drug-trafficking organization.
A longtime Abbotsford gang associate deported to India two years ago has been arrested there for allegedly producing the drug ketamine at his factory in Goa.
Jimi Singh Sandhu once tried to convince an immigration board official that he was a changed man and had left his criminal life and gang associations behind.
He begged for another chance to stay in Canada, the country he had lived in since the age of seven.
“I would just like one chance, one opportunity to prove myself to you,” he said at the time. “I won’t let you down.”
But the Canadian official said she was unconvinced that Sandhu was reformed and that he minimized his role in violent assaults in 2010 and 2012.
He was also charged with killing rival Red Scorpion gang leader Matt Campbell in Abbotsford in January 2014, but the charge was stayed a year later.
Sandhu was deported in early 2016 for serious criminality.
Now 28, he is in judicial custody after being arrested June 14 in India and charged with running an illicit drug manufacturing plant, according to Indian news reports.
Another man identified as Canadian Nguyen Manh Cuong was also charged, along with nine others — two of whom are British nationals who live in Goa.
The Hindustan Times reported that Cuong told Indian police that he met Sandhu in Vietnam and was helping him make connections to sell ketamine there.
Cuong also claimed that he agreed to travel to India to guide Sandhu in processing ketamine at the Goa factory.
Police seized 308 kilograms of ketamine, 2,000 kilograms of precursor chemicals, as well as opium, cocaine and hashish.
The Times also said investigators believe the drug gang was smuggling its product out of India and selling it to traffickers in Canada and Africa.
Jimi Sandhu is shown in this undated police handout photo.
Sandhu was once closely associated to Jujhar Khun-Khun, Sukh Dhak and members of the United Nations gang. Some of his friends have been part of the gang conflict that has left dozens dead across the Lower Mainland over the last three years. Khun-Khun pleaded guilty in Kelowna on May 1 to conspiracy to kill Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon in 2011 and was sentenced to 18 years minus pre-trial credit. Dhak, who was behind the Bacon murder, was shot to death in November 2012.
Abbotsford police were so concerned about Sandhu’s gang involvement that it took the extraordinary step in 2015 of warning the public to steer clear of him or risk getting caught in the crossfire.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Sandhu was “long-known to police here for his involvement in organized crime.”
“This is just another example of these individuals tied to the criminal lifestyle here in Canada that have left and continued on with their criminal paths in another country,” Winpenny said.
Sandhu himself acknowledged to the immigration board that he knew he had to change his life.
At his hearing two and a half years ago, he said: “I know that path is either go to jail or you die.”
In December 2015, Jimi Sandhu testified at an immigration hearing that he had turned over a new leaf, had married and was starting a business in Edmonton.
But he was deported a few months later for serious criminality.
Now he is in jail in India for allegedly being part of an international ketamine production and smuggling operation.
I got details from some Indian news reports and am trying to get more information, which I hope to have in the coming days. For example, I couldn’t confirm Monday than another Canadian arrested, who India is calling Nguyen Manh Cuong, is actually Dhak associate Ken Cuong Manh Nguyen. I believe he likely is, but need more confirmation of that.
Here’s my story:
Deported gang associate arrested in India for running
A longtime Abbotsford gang associate deported to India two years ago has been arrested there for allegedly producing the drug ketamine at his factory in Goa.
Jimi Singh Sandhu once tried to convince an immigration board official that he was a changed man and had left his criminal life and gang associations behind.
He begged for another chance to stay in Canada, the country he had lived in since the age of seven.
“I would just like one chance, one opportunity to prove myself to you,” he said at the time. “I won’t let you down.”
But the Canadian official said she was unconvinced that Sandhu was reformed and that he minimized his role in violent assaults in 2010 and 2012.
He was also charged with killing rival Red Scorpion gang leader Matt Campbell in Abbotsford in January 2014, but the charge was stayed a year later.
Sandhu was deported in early 2016 for serious criminality.
Now 28, he is in judicial custody after being arrested June 14 in India and charged with running an illicit drug manufacturing plant, according to Indian news reports.
Another man identified as Canadian Nguyen Manh Cuong was also charged, along with nine others — two of whom are British nationals who live in Goa.
The Hindustan Times reported that Cuong told Indian police that he met Sandhu in Vietnam and was helping him make connections to sell ketamine there.
Cuong also claimed that he agreed to travel to India to guide Sandhu in processing ketamine at the Goa factory.
Police seized 308 kilograms of ketamine, 2,000 kilograms of precursor chemicals, as well as opium, cocaine and hashish.
The Times also said investigators believe the drug gang was smuggling its product out of India and selling it to traffickers in Canada and Africa.
Sandhu was once closely associated to Jujhar Khun-Khun, Sukh Dhak and members of the United Nations gang. Some of his friends have been part of the gang conflict that has left dozens dead across the Lower Mainland over the last three years. Khun-Khun pleaded guilty in Kelowna on May 1 to conspiracy to kill Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon in 2011 and was sentenced to 18 years minus pre-trial credit. Dhak, who was behind the Bacon murder, was shot to death in November 2012.
Abbotsford police were so concerned about Sandhu’s gang involvement that it took the extraordinary step in 2015 of warning the public to steer clear of him or risk getting caught in the crossfire.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Sandhu was “long-known to police here for his involvement in organized crime.”
“This is just another example of these individuals tied to the criminal lifestyle here in Canada that have left and continued on with their criminal paths in another country,” Winpenny said.
Sandhu himself acknowledged to the immigration board that he knew he had to change his life.
At his hearing two and a half years ago, he said: “I know that path is either go to jail or you die.”
A convicted Canadian killer who fled the country while on parole for a 1999 gang hit has been arrested in India as part of a drug ring that has been shipping the drug ketamine to B.C. and beyond.
The RCMP has a Canada-wide warrant out for Kenny Cuong Manh Nguyen, 38, who failed to return from a 2015 trip to Vietnam authorized by the Parole Board of Canada.
According to the warrant, Cuong “contacted his parole officer and indicated that he has decided to remain in Vietnam and will not be returning to Canada.”
Cuong was arrested in Goa, India, last week in connection with a ketamine factory allegedly run by former B.C. gangster Jimi Sandhu.
He had entered India using a Vietnamese passport and didn’t admit to Indian police that he was Canadian at first. When he learned he could be facing a lengthy sentence for his alleged role in the ketamine ring, Cuong said he was from Canada and requested consular services.
Cuong was convicted of a second-degree murder for the fatal gang shooting of 19-year-old Doan Minh Vu in February 1999 outside Madison’s nightclub in downtown Vancouver. Cuong was in a vehicle driven by gang leader Gurmit Dhak, who was convicted of manslaughter for rolling down the window so that Cuong could take a better shot.
Dhak was gunned down in October 2010 outside Burnaby’s Metrotown mall. The aftermath of Dhak’s murder was a bloody eight-year-long gang war that left dozens dead across the Lower Mainland.
Sandhu was charged in 2014 with one of those murders, the fatal stabbing of Red Scorpion leader Matt Campbell. But after a year in pre-trial custody, the charge against Sandhu was stayed and he was eventually deported to India for earlier convictions.
At his immigration hearing, Sandhu, 28, claimed to be reformed and asked for another chance to stay in Canada despite his criminal history. He denied being a gang member, but admitted having associates in the Dhak-Duhre group, as well as the United Nations gang.
An Indian official told Postmedia on Wednesday that Sandhu allegedly opened the Goa ketamine factory about three months ago to finish a semi-manufactured version of the chemical that was being made in another state.
And the official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak about the case, said that the ketamine was exclusively destined for Canada, as the illicit drug is not popular in India.
Once the ketamine manufacturing process was complete, they would send it to Mumbai, where “they would put it inside these tea sashes and coffee packages and masala packages, which are usually sent by Indians to their relatives in Canada.”
The packages, some of which were seized during the investigation, were being sent via courier to Canadian addresses, he said.
The official also said the packages were professionally sealed and likely wouldn’t have drawn the suspicions of customs agents in either country.
Each couriered shipment contained 53 packages of 100 grams each, so about half a kilogram.
The Canadian recipients of the ketamine are believed to have been paying the manufactures in India through “hawala” — a system where the money is paid at the Canadian end to a broker, who then has an associate at the Indian end pay the debt.
The official also said investigators believe cocaine sent from North America was also used as payment.
Sandhu was the second in command of the ketamine operation, while another Canadian with the nickname “Laddy” is being sought as the gang’s suspected leader, the official said.
Sandhu was allegedly working closely with a British man living in Goa named Jonathan Thorn, who has drug convictions in the U.K., he said.
During raids last week in several Indian states, police seized 308 kilograms of ketamine, precursor chemicals, as well as hash, cocaine and opium.
The criminal proceedings could take years, the official said. The mandatory sentence for a first-time conviction is 12 years.
The RCMP had no comment Wednesday on whether officers would be following up with Indian authorities on the Cuong warrant.
“The RCMP cannot comment on the actions of government and law enforcement in other countries,” Sgt. Marie Damian said in an email.
I was able to confirm that the Canadian arrested in the same investigation as former B.C. gangster Jimi Sandhu is in fact fugitive killer Kenny Cuong Manh Nguyen. He didn’t disclose his Canadian citizenship at first upon his arrest. But when he learned the kind of sentence he might be facing, he asked for Canadian consular services.
Jimi Sandhu, on the other hand, asked for Canadian consular services and had to be told that he was an Indian and could not be helped by the government of his former home.
Here’s my story:
Convicted killer fugitive arrested in India for aiding drug
A convicted Canadian killer who fled the country while on parole for a 1999 gang hit has been arrested in India as part of a drug ring that has been shipping the drug ketamine to B.C. and beyond.
The RCMP has a Canada-wide warrant out for Kenny Cuong Manh Nguyen, 38, who failed to return from a 2015 trip to Vietnam authorized by the Parole Board of Canada.
According to the warrant, Cuong “contacted his parole officer and indicated that he has decided to remain in Vietnam and will not be returning to Canada.”
Cuong was arrested in Goa, India, last week in connection with a ketamine factory allegedly run by former B.C. gangster Jimi Sandhu.
He had entered India using a Vietnamese passport and didn’t admit to Indian police that he was Canadian at first. When he learned he could be facing a lengthy sentence for his alleged role in the ketamine ring, Cuong said he was from Canada and requested consular services.
Ketamine factory in Goa, India allegedly owned by former BC gangster Jimi Sandhu
Cuong was convicted of a second-degree murder for the fatal gang shooting of 19-year-old Doan Minh Vu in February 1999 outside Madison’s nightclub in downtown Vancouver. Cuong was in a vehicle driven by gang leader Gurmit Dhak, who was convicted of manslaughter for rolling down the window so that Cuong could take a better shot.
Dhak was gunned down in October 2010 outside Burnaby’s Metrotown mall. The aftermath of Dhak’s murder was a bloody eight-year-long gang war that left dozens dead across the Lower Mainland.
Sandhu was charged in 2014 with one of those murders, the fatal stabbing of Red Scorpion leader Matt Campbell. But after a year in pre-trial custody, the charge against Sandhu was stayed and he was eventually deported to India for earlier convictions.
At his immigration hearing, Sandhu, 28, claimed to be reformed and asked for another chance to stay in Canada despite his criminal history. He denied being a gang member, but admitted having associates in the Dhak-Duhre group, as well as the United Nations gang.
An Indian official told Postmedia on Wednesday that Sandhu allegedly opened the Goa ketamine factory about three months ago to finish a semi-manufactured version of the chemical that was being made in another state.
And the official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak about the case, said that the ketamine was exclusively destined for Canada, as the illicit drug is not popular in India.
Once the ketamine manufacturing process was complete, they would send it to Mumbai, where “they would put it inside these tea sashes and coffee packages and masala packages, which are usually sent by Indians to their relatives in Canada.”
The packages, some of which were seized during the investigation, were being sent via courier to Canadian addresses, he said.
The official also said the packages were professionally sealed and likely wouldn’t have drawn the suspicions of customs agents in either country.
Each couriered shipment contained 53 packages of 100 grams each, so about half a kilogram.
The Canadian recipients of the ketamine are believed to have been paying the manufactures in India through “hawala” — a system where the money is paid at the Canadian end to a broker, who then has an associate at the Indian end pay the debt.
The official also said investigators believe cocaine sent from North America was also used as payment.
Sandhu was the second in command of the ketamine operation, while another Canadian with the nickname “Laddy” is being sought as the gang’s suspected leader, the official said.
Sandhu was allegedly working closely with a British man living in Goa named Jonathan Thorn, who has drug convictions in the U.K., he said.
During raids last week in several Indian states, police seized 308 kilograms of ketamine, precursor chemicals, as well as hash, cocaine and opium.
The criminal proceedings could take years, the official said. The mandatory sentence for a first-time conviction is 12 years.
The RCMP had no comment Wednesday on whether officers would be following up with Indian authorities on the Cuong warrant.
“The RCMP cannot comment on the actions of government and law enforcement in other countries,” Sgt. Marie Damian said in an email.
The girlfriend of high-profile gangster Jamie Bacon died last December of a carfentanil overdose, according to an investigation by the B.C. Coroners Service.
Kelowna resident Madison Fine was found unresponsive in a Richmond hotel Dec. 1, 2017 — the same day that Bacon had a murder charge against him stayed in B.C. Supreme Court.
The two-page report by Coroner Debra Rees said that Fine, 25, had overdosed the night before she died, was taken to hospital by ambulance and was released.
Postmedia earlier revealed that Bacon was concerned when Fine did not attend his court appearance Dec. 1, when Justice Kathleen Ker stayed charges against him in connection with the 2007 Surrey Six murders.
Bacon’s mother Susan went to the Richmond hotel where Fine had been staying and found the young drug trafficker dead inside.
Jamie Bacon posed for this photo while in prison in 2010.
Rees said in her report that the “RCMP Major Crimes Unit attended the scene and determined there was no suspicion of foul play.”
“As death was obvious, no resuscitation was attempted and the female was pronounced deceased on scene,” she said.
“Investigation revealed that Ms. Fine was known to consume illicit substances regularly. Powder and a rolled up bill were found at the scene.”
“I find that Ms. Madison Zoe Fine died in Richmond on December 1, 2017 of carfentanil toxicity. I classify this death as accidental and make no recommendations,” Rees wrote.
Carfentanil is considered 100 times more deadly than fentanyl and 10,000 times as toxic as a unit of morphine.
Rees noted that despite being taken to hospital on Nov. 30, Fine had no hospitalizations over the two previous years.
“Family reported that when they became aware of Ms. Fine’s problematic substance use, they offered support and treatment but were declined,” Rees said.
Fine had travelled from Kelowna to Vancouver specifically to attend Bacon’s court appearance.
In an obituary Fine was described as the “true love to Jamie.”
“It is with great sadness and heartfelt loss that we share with you the passing of our dear, sweet Maddie to an accidental overdose,” the obituary said. “Maddie was the most headstrong, smart, creative, entrepreneurial (and maddening at times) daughter, who never accepted help. She always wanted to solve things herself. She had an uncanny ability to read a room and any situation.
She always fought for the underdog and helped a larger community of people in need.”
Fine was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking on both Oct. 1, 2012, and Jan. 23, 2013. She was sentenced to a year in jail.
In February 2014, she was arrested in downtown Kelowna and charged with trafficking heroin. During a subsequent strip search by Kelowna RCMP, bags of crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin fell out of her pants.
A provincial court judge later ruled the strip search had violated Fine’s charter rights because it was videotaped and could have been viewed by others in a monitoring room at the detachment.
When she died, she was still before the courts on charges of wilfully resisting a peace officer and impaired driving.
Bacon remains in pre-trial custody on a charge of counselling someone to commit murder for a botched 2008 shooting of a former associate.
As suspected when this news broke last December, Jamie Bacon’s girlfriend Madison Fine died of an overdose, according to a coroner’s report released yesterday.
Sad for her family no matter what you think of Fine and Bacon. And it shows that even those earning a living in the drug trade are not immune to the overdose crisis.
Here’s my story:
Gangster Jamie Bacon’s girlfriend died of carfentanil
The girlfriend of high-profile gangster Jamie Bacon died last December of a carfentanil overdose, according to an investigation by the B.C. Coroners Service.
Kelowna resident Madison Fine was found unresponsive in a Richmond hotel Dec. 1, 2017 — the same day that Bacon had a murder charge against him stayed in B.C. Supreme Court.
The two-page report by Coroner Debra Rees said that Fine, 25, had overdosed the night before she died, was taken to hospital by ambulance and was released.
Postmedia earlier revealed that Bacon was concerned when Fine did not attend his court appearance Dec. 1, when Justice Kathleen Ker stayed charges against him in connection with the 2007 Surrey Six murders.
Bacon’s mother Susan went to the Richmond hotel where Fine had been staying and found the young drug trafficker dead inside.
Jamie Bacon posed for this photo while in prison in 2010.HANDOUT / PNG
Rees said in her report that the “RCMP Major Crimes Unit attended the scene and determined there was no suspicion of foul play.”
“As death was obvious, no resuscitation was attempted and the female was pronounced deceased on scene,” she said.
“Investigation revealed that Ms. Fine was known to consume illicit substances regularly. Powder and a rolled up bill were found at the scene.”
“I find that Ms. Madison Zoe Fine died in Richmond on December 1, 2017 of carfentanil toxicity. I classify this death as accidental and make no recommendations,” Rees wrote.
Carfentanil is considered 100 times more deadly than fentanyl and 10,000 times as toxic as a unit of morphine.
Rees noted that despite being taken to hospital on Nov. 30, Fine had no hospitalizations over the two previous years.
“Family reported that when they became aware of Ms. Fine’s problematic substance use, they offered support and treatment but were declined,” Rees said.
Fine had travelled from Kelowna to Vancouver specifically to attend Bacon’s court appearance.
In an obituary Fine was described as the “true love to Jamie.”
“It is with great sadness and heartfelt loss that we share with you the passing of our dear, sweet Maddie to an accidental overdose,” the obituary said. “Maddie was the most headstrong, smart, creative, entrepreneurial (and maddening at times) daughter, who never accepted help. She always wanted to solve things herself. She had an uncanny ability to read a room and any situation.
She always fought for the underdog and helped a larger community of people in need.”
Fine was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking on both Oct. 1, 2012, and Jan. 23, 2013. She was sentenced to a year in jail.
In February 2014, she was arrested in downtown Kelowna and charged with trafficking heroin. During a subsequent strip search by Kelowna RCMP, bags of crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin fell out of her pants.
A provincial court judge later ruled the strip search had violated Fine’s charter rights because it was videotaped and could have been viewed by others in a monitoring room at the detachment.
When she died, she was still before the courts on charges of wilfully resisting a peace officer and impaired driving.
Bacon remains in pre-trial custody on a charge of counselling someone to commit murder for a botched2008 shooting of a former associate.
Ranbir Bhinder recalled Saturday how his entire family was “shattered” by the 1985 Air India bombing that left his pilot brother Satwinder dead.
Bhinder, who is visiting from India, attended his first memorial to commemorate the 331 victims of the Air India bombings 33 years ago.
“The 23rd of June 1985, as you all know, shattered the lives of hundreds of families and ours was one of them,” Bhinder said, standing in front of the stone wall that bears the name of his brother and the other victims of Canada’s deadliest terrorist attack.
“This really did shatter us and really for a few years — nobody could really think of getting into an airliner,” he said, adding that now eight others in the family are pilots. “His son his now again a pilot with Air India.”
Bhinder was among dozens of family members, politicians and supporters who attended the annual event.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix, whose wife Renee Saklikar lost her aunt and uncle in the bombing, said the flags were flying half-mast at the B.C. legislature to remember the victims.
Particularly tragic was the loss of 82 children on the flight — many on their way to India to visit relatives at the end of the school year.
The B.C. perpetrators of the attack “knew there would be a lot of children on the plane and they acted anyway,” Dix said.
“This is mass murder. This is child murder. This is without conscience, without dignity, without honour of any kind. So reflect on that loss today,” he said.
Air India Flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland when a B.C.-made bomb detonated in the cargo hold. All 329 aboard died. Another B.C.-made bomb exploded in a suitcase at Tokyo’s Narita airport as it was being transferred to another Air India flight. Two baggage handlers were killed.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge and a public inquiry determined the bombings were carried out by the B.C. Babbar Khalsa, headed by former Burnaby mill worker Talwinder Singh Parmar. Parmar was killed by Indian police before being charged in Canada.
Three of his associates, Ripudman Singh Malik, Ajaib Singh Bagri and Inderjit Singh Reyat were charged in the bombing plot. Malik and Bagri were acquitted and Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Air India bombing. He was earlier convicted in the Narita bombing.
Former premier Ujjal Dosanjh, who was once viciously beaten by a Sikh extremist, said what is disturbing is that some supporters of Parmar and other Air India suspects have continued to profess their innocence despite a mountain of evidence in the case.
And the suspects are being glorified as martyrs at some temples and events attended by politicians, Dosanjh said.
“If we can take one pledge, I would ask the politicians across this country to stop hob-knobbing with those who glorify or support terror, implicitly or explicitly, and do everything possible to make sure that Canada is never home to a terrorist act like this every again,” he said to applause.
Pretty Dhalilwal points out the names of family members on the Memorial wall in Stanley Park before the annual Air India memorial service, held Saturday in Vancouver.
Perviz Madon, who lost husband Sam in the bombing, echoed Dosanjh’s comments, saying it was disturbing to see some sympathetic to the bombers with political support.
“The politicians need to stop attending events where they are glorifying these guys who have become martyrs who are terrorists. Please stop doing that. You are giving them a platform,” she pleaded.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said that Canada let the victims down by not preventing the attack when there had been repeated warnings that Air India would be targeted.
“Currently only one person has been brought to justice and there are those who still walk free among us,” Sajjan said. “The investigation will not be completed until those have been brought to justice.”
Retired RCMP deputy commissioner Gary Bass, who was in charge of the Air India investigation for years, said there are still people in the community who have information that could help the ongoing criminal case.
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” Bass said. “And there are a lot of people across this country and in other countries who have information about this horrendous crime that they’ve never shared. It’s time that they did.”
The director of civil forfeiture has filed suit against an alleged international money launderer to get casino chips seized from him forfeited to the B.C. government.
The lawsuit targeting $75,000 worth of chips taken from Dan Bai Shun Jin last month was filed June 13, according to documents obtained by Postmedia News.
The RCMP arrested Jin at River Rock Casino in Richmond on May 25 — a day after the Canada Border Services Agency detained a woman arriving at Vancouver International Airport with US$20,000 allegedly intended for Jin.
The government suit says CBSA agents “determined that Mr. Jin was the subject of an arrest warrant issued from the state of Nevada … regarding an alleged $1.4 million US fraud.”
Jin, also known as Dan Bui Shin Jin, was in possession of the chip, as well as $805 in U.S. cash, the suit says.
Police searched Jin’s room at the River Rock on May 26 and found “documents relating to crime proceedings involving Mr. Jin in Australia” and “documents associating Mr. Jin to the importation of $20,000 US into Canada.”
The director claims Jin’s “casino chips and money are proceeds and instruments of unlawful activity.”
“The casino chips and money have been used by Mr. Jin to engage in unlawful activities which variously resulted in, or were likely to result in, the acquisition of property, or interest in property, or cause, or were likely to cause serious bodily harm,” the suit alleges.
Jin’s crimes include money laundering, possession of proceeds of crime and failure to pay income tax, the court documents allege.
“Mr. Jin did not have sufficient legitimate income to have acquired the casino chips and money.”
Jin, who was being held in immigration detention pending his deportation, has not filed a response to the civil forfeiture suit,
The RCMP earlier released some details of the joint investigation into the 55-year-old Australian, saying the combined efforts “prevented an alleged international money launderer from using B.C. casinos as a conduit for illicit transactions.”
Postmedia attended Jin’s immigration hearing last month, where an adjudicator found he was inadmissible to Canada because of the outstanding U.S. charges.
Canadian authorities were also concerned about multiple investigations in several countries, including Australia and the U.S. According to Australian court documents, Jin is likely to be involved in large-scale, illegal, casino-based money laundering in Australia, the U.S., Macau and Singapore.
Part of the Australian probe revolves around Jin gambling about $850 million at a casino in Melbourne between 2005 and 2013.
On Wednesday, the B.C. government will release a 250-page report on money laundering in B.C. casinos. The report is expected to contain 45 recommendations on how to deal with the problem of criminals misusing the gambling operation to clean their illicit cash.
As the Hells Angels mark their 35th anniversary with a party in Nanaimo this weekend, police say the group continues to expand in B.C. despite a series of high-profile arrests and convictions over the last decade.
More than 300 bikers from across Canada are expected to attend the Vancouver Island bash to celebrate the day the first three B.C. chapters were formed, July 23, 1983.
Since the 25th anniversary party in Langley a decade ago, members of B.C.’s most notorious gang have been murdered, shot, charged with murder and convicted of international drug smuggling, extortion, manslaughter and more.
The B.C. Hells Angels started with branches in Nanaimo, Vancouver and White Rock, but have now expanded to 10 chapters and 114 members, entry-level prospects and hang-arounds — the term used for men hoping to join the HA.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said “it’s well-documented that many of the participants of these events are individuals and members of clubs associated to and who participate in criminal activities.”
CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton noted the many high-profile cases in recent years that link the Hells Angels to violence, drug trafficking and other crimes.
• In 2013, Kelowna Hells Angels Norm Cocks and Robert Thomas pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years.
• In September 2016, two other Kelowna Hells Angels were convicted for their roles in an international cocaine importing scheme that had been cooked up by police as part of an undercover operation.
• A month later, prominent Mission Hells Angel Bob Green was shot to death at an all-night booze and drug party in Langley.
• Early this year, West Point Hells Angel Larry Amero was charged with conspiracy to commit murder for plots that left two rivals dead in 2012. And B.C. Hells Angels Jason Arkinstall and Chad Wilson were convicted in Spain of importing cocaine.
“I think it is fair to say that there’s a portion of the public who sees through their lies and sees through this free-living, charity-riding mystique that they want to portray and see them for what they are, a significant international criminal organization,” Houghton said.
Members of the Hells Angels ride to Oceanview Cemetery in Burnaby during their annual Screwy Ride to honour the murdered Dave “Screwy” Schwartz in Vancouver on April, 8, 2017.
“They are still expanding, they are still looking to shore up their power base and ensure that they maintain the highest levels of influence and intimidation within the criminal landscape, the organized crime landscape.”
Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay said Thursday that he doesn’t expect any problems at this year’s party.
“To be honest with you, they used to come to the city every year and have a big party out at Angel Acres. I don’t believe they were ever much of a problem,” he said of the bikers and their large property, which the B.C. government is trying to seize through a civil forfeiture case. “I don’t expect that they will cause the community any challenges.”
He said the provincial government would be covering the costs of the extra police in town for the weekend.
Asked if he considers the HA an organized crime group, McKay said: “Police would know better than myself, but I believe there are connections there, yes.”
“Police are doing their job to ensure the safety of our community and we thank them for that,” he said.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for an interview about the anniversary. Ciarniello has been a fixture in the courtroom during the civil forfeiture trial over the fate of three clubhouses which the government agency says would be used to commit future crimes if the Hells Angels were allowed to keep them.
The trial began in April, but has been adjourned until the fall.
The front entrance outside the Hells Angels clubhouse on Victoria Avenue in Nanaimo in 2004.
Houghton said that despite the efforts of the police, some in the public still support the Hells Angels and “think they are OK people.”
“We still see when they do these rides, that people come out to watch them because they are interested,” he said.
Seventy-one per cent of B.C.’s Hells Angels have criminal records for violence offences, Houghton said.
And the Hells Angels have links to other gangs, like the Red Scorpions, Independent Soldiers and Wolf Pack that have been directly involved in a violent gang war over the last decade, centred in Metro Vancouver.
“We know as the province’s gang agency that we have a lot of work to do to educate the public about what these people and the groups and what their reputations really are,” he said.
Timeline of some events related to the Hells Angels in B.C. over the past decade:
July 13, 2009 – Four Hells Angels were convicted on a series of charges stemming from the E-Pandora investigation targeting the East End Hells Angels in Vancouver.
Aug. 14, 2011 – Hells Angel Larry Amero was seriously wounded in a targeted Kelowna shooting that left Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon dead and two others wounded.
Hells Angel Larry Ronald Amero in file photo
Nov. 1, 2012 – Amero charged in Montreal with associates in the Wolf Pack with leading international cocaine smuggling ring.
Jan. 30, 2013 – Two Kelowna Hells Angels, Norman Cocks and Robert Thomas, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Dec. 16, 2014 – Longtime Hells Angel Robert “Fred” Widdifield, a founding member of the Nanaimo chapter, was convicted of extortion and theft. He was later sentenced to five years.
Sept. 30, 2016 – Kelowna Hells Angel Dave Giles convicted of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; James Howard was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; and Bryan Oldham and Shawn Womacks were found guilty of one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine.
Oct. 16, 2016 – High-profile Hells Angel Bob Green is found shot to death in Langley. A day later, his friend and gang associate Jason Wallace turned himself into police. He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter after telling the court his and his family’s lives were threatened after the drunken, drug-fuelled shooting.
Senior B.C. Hells Angel Bob Green.
Oct. 26, 2016 – White Rock Hells Angels prospect Mohammed Rafiq, 43, was shot in the face while driving near his Burnaby home. He survived.
March 19, 2017 – The body of Nanaimo Hells Angels prospect Michael Gregory Widner is found near Sooke, days after he was reported missing. He was murdered.
Aug. 30, 2017 – Montreal conspiracy charges stayed against Hells Angel Larry Amero due to delays in the case.
Jan. 25, 2018 – Hells Angel Larry Amero is charged with conspiracy to kill rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak. Both were shot to death months apart in 2012. The murders are believed to have been retaliation for the 2011 Kelowna shooting.
April 23, 2018 – Civil forfeiture case begins in B.C. Supreme Court, more than a decade after the case began. It has now been adjourned until fall 2018.
I started the Real Scoop 10 years ago this weekend by doing a live blog on the 25th anniversary bash of the Hells Angels at the Langley property owned by the White Rock chapter.
So it’s appropriate that I cover the 35th anniversary party in Nanaimo this weekend. I am heading over tomorrow and will file stories on whatever transpires this weekend.
No one is expecting problems, but there will be a large contingent of police on hand monitoring the event.
Here’s my advance story on the anniversary:
Hells Angels still expanding after 35 years in B.C.
As the Hells Angels mark their 35th anniversary with a party in Nanaimo this weekend, police say the group continues to expand in B.C. despite a series of high-profile arrests and convictions over the last decade.
More than 300 bikers from across Canada are expected to attend the Vancouver Island bash to celebrate the day the first three B.C. chapters were formed, July 23, 1983.
Since the 25th anniversary party in Langley a decade ago, members of B.C.’s most notorious gang have been murdered, shot, charged with murder and convicted of international drug smuggling, extortion, manslaughter and more.
The B.C. Hells Angels started with branches in Nanaimo, Vancouver and White Rock, but have now expanded to 10 chapters and 114 members, entry-level prospects and hang-arounds — the term used for men hoping to join the HA.
Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said “it’s well-documented that many of the participants of these events are individuals and members of clubs associated to and who participate in criminal activities.”
CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton noted the many high-profile cases in recent years that link the Hells Angels to violence, drug trafficking and other crimes.
• In 2013, Kelowna Hells Angels Norm Cocks and Robert Thomas pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years.
• In September 2016, two other Kelowna Hells Angels were convicted for their roles in an international cocaine importing scheme that had been cooked up by police as part of an undercover operation.
• A month later, prominent Mission Hells Angel Bob Green was shot to death at an all-night booze and drug party in Langley.
• Early this year, West Point Hells Angel Larry Amero was charged with conspiracy to commit murder for plots that left two rivals dead in 2012. And B.C.
• Hells Angels Jason Arkinstall and Chad Wilson were convicted in Spain of importing cocaine.
“I think it is fair to say that there’s a portion of the public who sees through their lies and sees through this free-living, charity-riding mystique that they want to portray and see them for what they are, a significant international criminal organization,” Houghton said.
Members of the Hells Angels ride to Oceanview Cemetery in Burnaby during their annual Screwy Ride to honour the murdered Dave “Screwy” Schwartz in Vancouver on April, 8, 2017.RICHARD LAM / PNG
“They are still expanding, they are still looking to shore up their power base and ensure that they maintain the highest levels of influence and intimidation within the criminal landscape, the organized crime landscape.”
Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay said Thursday that he doesn’t expect any problems at this year’s party.
“To be honest with you, they used to come to the city every year and have a big party out at Angel Acres. I don’t believe they were ever much of a problem,” he said of the bikers and their large property, which the B.C. government is trying to seize through a civil forfeiture case. “I don’t expect that they will cause the community any challenges.”
He said the provincial government would be covering the costs of the extra police in town for the weekend.
Asked if he considers the HA an organized crime group, McKay said: “Police would know better than myself, but I believe there are connections there, yes.”
“Police are doing their job to ensure the safety of our community and we thank them for that,” he said.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for an interview about the anniversary. Ciarniello has been a fixture in the courtroom during the civil forfeiture trial over the fate of three clubhouses which the government agency says would be used to commit future crimes if the Hells Angels were allowed to keep them.
The trial began in April, but has been adjourned until the fall.
The front entrance outside the Hells Angels clubhouse on Victoria Avenue in Nanaimo in 2004. BRUCE STOTESBURY / TIMES COLONIST
Houghton said that despite the efforts of the police, some in the public still support the Hells Angels and “think they are OK people.”
“We still see when they do these rides, that people come out to watch them because they are interested,” he said.
Seventy-one per cent of B.C.’s Hells Angels have criminal records for violence offences, Houghton said.
And the Hells Angels have links to other gangs, like the Red Scorpions, Independent Soldiers and Wolf Pack that have been directly involved in a violent gang war over the last decade, centred in Metro Vancouver.
“We know as the province’s gang agency that we have a lot of work to do to educate the public about what these people and the groups and what their reputations really are,” he said.
Timeline of some events related to the Hells Angels in B.C. over the past decade:
July 13, 2009 – Four Hells Angels were convicted on a series of charges stemming from the E-Pandora investigation targeting the East End Hells Angels in Vancouver.
Aug. 14, 2011 – Hells Angel Larry Amero was seriously wounded in a targeted Kelowna shooting that left Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon dead and two others wounded.
Nov. 1, 2012 – Amero charged in Montreal with associates in the Wolf Pack with leading international cocaine smuggling ring.
Jan. 30, 2013 – Two Kelowna Hells Angels, Norman Cocks and Robert Thomas, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Dec. 16, 2014 – Longtime Hells Angel Robert “Fred” Widdifield, a founding member of the Nanaimo chapter, was convicted of extortion and theft. He was later sentenced to five years.
Sept. 30, 2016 – Kelowna Hells Angel Dave Giles was convicted of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; Hells Angel Bryan Oldham was found guilty of one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine.
Oct. 16, 2016 – High-profile Hells Angel Bob Green, of the Mission City chapter, is found shot to death in Langley. A day later, his friend and gang associate Jason Wallace turned himself into police. Wallace later pleaded guilty to manslaughter after telling the court his and his family’s lives were threatened after the drunken, drug-fuelled shooting.
Oct. 26, 2016 – White Rock Hells Angels prospect Mohammed Rafiq, 43, was shot in the face while driving near his Burnaby home. He survived.
March 19, 2017 – The body of Nanaimo Hells Angels prospect Michael Gregory Widner is found near Sooke, days after he was reported missing. He was murdered.
Aug. 30, 2017 – Montreal conspiracy charges stayed against Hells Angel Larry Amero due to delays in the case.
Jan. 25, 2018 – Hells Angel Larry Amero is charged with conspiracy to kill rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak. Both were shot to death months apart in 2012. The murders are believed to have been retaliation for the 2011 Kelowna shooting.
April 23, 2018 – Civil forfeiture case begins in B.C. Supreme Court, more than a decade after the case began. It has now been adjourned until fall 2018.
Crime reporter Kim Bolan is in Nanaimo to cover the 35th anniversary of the first Hells Angels chapters in B.C. She will be live-tweeting events Friday and Saturday.
Read her feature here, and follow her live updates below:
NANAIMO — Hundreds of Hells Angels from across Canada spent Saturday partying at the local chapter’s biker clubhouse right next door to the one raided by the RCMP almost 11 years ago.
Attendees from as far away as P.E.I. and Nova Scotia began arriving Friday under the watchful eye of B.C.’s anti-gang agency — the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit — and other police forces.
Dozens of additional bikers rode over on the ferry Saturday, arriving in almost procession-like fashion at the Nanaimo compound to celebrate the Hells Angels 35th anniversary in B.C.
The old Hells Angels’ clubhouse at 805 Victoria Rd. remains behind a blue metal fence, a large ‘No Trespassing’ sign hanging on the dilapidated building.
It is the subject of an ongoing court battle between the Hells Angels and the B.C. director of civil forfeiture that began with the clubhouse raid in November 2007.
The warehouselike structure, assessed this year as being worth $104,000, no longer bears any markings of the notorious biker gang.
But right beside it, the Nanaimo Hells Angels have established an even bigger compound in two houses surrounded by gravel.
One of the properties being used is owned by Angels Acres, the same biker-owned corporation that was named as a defendant in the civil forfeiture case. The house, which has a new garage added on with Hells Angels signs inside, has a current assessed value of $242,000.
The second house, assessed at $303,000, is owned by Jeffrey Scott Pasanen, according to land title records obtained by Postmedia News.
Pasanen, a convicted drug trafficker, is a full-patch member of the Nanaimo chapter.
CFSEU and the other agencies in town to monitor the event took photographs as bikers mingled, did curfew checks on known HA associates and patrolled the streets in and around the party compound.
“Part of their presence here is to intimidate the public, intimidate and cause fear among rival criminal organizations and to re-establish or reaffirm that they are essentially the top dog,” CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said.
“We are here to keep them in check and make sure that nothing bad happens.”
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A members Hells Angels arrives at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels pose for a picture while gathering out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A members Hells Angels arrives at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
A members of Hells Angels and a woman outside at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Horsemen Motorcycle Club arrive at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia keep watch as members of the Hells Angels arrive at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A member of the Hells Angels from Manitoba arrive at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
A member of the Horsemen Motorcycle Club arrives at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A member of the Horsemen Motorcycle Club is greeted by a member of the Hells Angels upon arriving at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Horsemen Motorcycle Club arrive at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Horsemen Motorcycle Club arrive at the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia monitors the Nanaimo Hells Angels clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia checks on known associates of the Hells Angels in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Sergeant Lindsey Houghton of The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia works from across the street of the Nanaimo Hells Angels clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A member of The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia monitors the Nanaimo Hells Angels clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Hells Angels arrive at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Hells Angels arrive at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A look inside the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A motorcycle with vanity plates HAFFHA (Hells Angels Forever Forever Hells Angels) is parked outside a motel in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Hells Angels Robin Gauthier arrives at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
A pair of riding gloves sits on the seat of a motorcycle parked out front of the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Member of the Hells Angels welcomes the police and media out front of the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Member of the Hells Angels greet each other out front of the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Member of the Hells Angels greet each other out front of the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A member of the Hells Angels arrives at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Hells Angels arrive at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A member of the Hells Angels arrives at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Hells Angels arrive at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
Member of the Hells Angels arrive at the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
A member of the Hells Angels walks into the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
A motorcycle with the Hell Angels logo sits outside the Nanaimo Hells Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members of the Hells Angels walk inside their clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 20, 2018. RICHARD LAM/PNG
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels' clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.RICHARD LAM/PNG
The bikers seem to be friendly with many in the neighbourhood. Several area residents told Postmedia News they have no problem with the Hells Angels, but they didn’t want to be quoted.
Houghton said his agency is trying to educate the public about the Hells Angels’ link to organized crime in B.C., Canada and even abroad.
“British Columbia Hells Angels have a significant influence and presence worldwide, not just within the Hells Angels organization itself, but within criminal organizations worldwide,” he said, adding that they control the drug trade in most of the places they operate.
“The public needs to realize that this clubhouse isn’t just a clubhouse for fun. This is the clubhouse of a criminal organization and a major one at that.”
Asked about the fact the Nanaimo chapter re-established a clubhouse despite the civil forfeiture case, Houghton said: “It is continued motivation for us to not just target them overtly, but covertly as well. It is no secret that we look for every opportunity to investigate them.
“We will do everything we can to make sure their influence in communities like Nanaimo — or any community for that matter — is held in check.”
The bikers were on their best behaviour Friday and Saturday, though several were pulled over for alleged traffic violations.
A refrigeration truck was on the clubhouse grounds, as well as a stage, several tents and outdoor tables. Prospects and hangarounds — the lower-ranking people in the Hells Angels’ program — were doing security and arriving with supplies and stereo equipment.
While most Angels arrived on their Harleys, others came by taxi or passenger vans.
The first three chapters of the Hells Angels — Nanaimo, White Rock and Vancouver — started on July 23, 1983. Since then, the bikers have expanded with 10 chapters around the province and 121 members, prospects and associates.
Hells Angels B.C. spokesman Rick Ciarniello arrived at the Nanaimo clubhouse about noon Saturday. He did not respond to an emailed request for a comment about the anniversary party.
Heading out of Nanaimo now after an interesting couple of days covering the anniversary party. I hadn’t realized that the Nanaimo chapter had simply moved operations next door after the clubhouse was raided in 2007 and became the subject of a civil forfeiture case.Here’s my story:
Hells Angels party it up in Nanaimo while police keep
eyes wide open
The bikers were on their best behaviour Friday and Saturday, though several were pulled over for alleged traffic violations.
NANAIMO — Hundreds of Hells Angels from across Canada spent Saturday partying at the local chapter’s biker clubhouse right next door to the one raided by the RCMP almost 11 years ago.
Attendees from as far away as P.E.I. and Nova Scotia began arriving Friday under the watchful eye of B.C.’s anti-gang agency — the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit — and other police forces.
Dozens of additional bikers rode over on the ferry Saturday, arriving in almost procession-like fashion at the Nanaimo compound to celebrate the Hells Angels 35th anniversary in B.C.
The old Hells Angels’ clubhouse at 805 Victoria Rd. remains behind a blue metal fence, a large ‘No Trespassing’ sign hanging on the dilapidated building.
It is the subject of an ongoing court battle between the Hells Angels and the B.C. director of civil forfeiture that began with the clubhouse raid in November 2007.
The warehouselike structure, assessed this year as being worth $104,000, no longer bears any markings of the notorious biker gang.
But right beside it, the Nanaimo Hells Angels have established an even bigger compound in two houses surrounded by gravel.
One of the properties being used is owned by Angels Acres, the same biker-owned corporation that was named as a defendant in the civil forfeiture case. The house, which has a new garage added on with Hells Angels signs inside, has a current assessed value of $242,000.
The second house, assessed at $303,000, is owned by Jeffrey Scott Pasanen, according to land title records obtained by Postmedia News.
Pasanen, a convicted drug trafficker, is a full-patch member of the Nanaimo chapter.
CFSEU and the other agencies in town to monitor the event took photographs as bikers mingled, did curfew checks on known HA associates and patrolled the streets in and around the party compound.
“Part of their presence here is to intimidate the public, intimidate and cause fear among rival criminal organizations and to re-establish or reaffirm that they are essentially the top dog,” CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said.
“We are here to keep them in check and make sure that nothing bad happens.”
A member of the Horsemen Motorcycle Club is greeted by a member of the Hells Angels upon arriving at the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.
The bikers seem to be friendly with many in the neighbourhood. Several area residents told Postmedia News they have no problem with the Hells Angels, but they didn’t want to be quoted.
Houghton said his agency is trying to educate the public about the Hells Angels’ link to organized crime in B.C., Canada and even abroad.
“British Columbia Hells Angels have a significant influence and presence worldwide, not just within the Hells Angels organization itself, but within criminal organizations worldwide,” he said, adding that they control the drug trade in most of the places they operate.
“The public needs to realize that this clubhouse isn’t just a clubhouse for fun. This is the clubhouse of a criminal organization and a major one at that.”
Asked about the fact the Nanaimo chapter re-established a clubhouse despite the civil forfeiture case, Houghton said: “It is continued motivation for us to not just target them overtly, but covertly as well. It is no secret that we look for every opportunity to investigate them.
“We will do everything we can to make sure their influence in communities like Nanaimo — or any community for that matter — is held in check.”
The bikers were on their best behaviour Friday and Saturday, though several were pulled over for alleged traffic violations.
A refrigeration truck was on the clubhouse grounds, as well as a stage, several tents and outdoor tables. Prospects and hangarounds — the lower-ranking people in the Hells Angels’ program — were doing security and arriving with supplies and stereo equipment.
While most Angels arrived on their Harleys, others came by taxi or passenger vans.
Members Hells Angels gather out front of the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.
The first three chapters of the Hells Angels — Nanaimo, White Rock and Vancouver — started on July 23, 1983. Since then, the bikers have expanded with 10 chapters around the province and 121 members, prospects and associates.
Hells Angels B.C. spokesman Rick Ciarniello arrived at the Nanaimo clubhouse about noon Saturday. He did not respond to an emailed request for a comment about the anniversary party.
Members of the Los Diablos, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, leave the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.
B.C.’s anti-gang agency says there’s been a disturbing increase in the number of affiliated motorcycle clubs opening in B.C. with the Hells Angels’ permission.
“What we have seen is an expansion of the clubs themselves. People here on Vancouver Island will know the name Savages and the Devil’s Army — they are very high profile,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said. “Over on the Lower Mainland there are groups like the Jesters and the Shadow Club.”
And now there is Los Diablos, currently using a local Starbucks as its clubhouse.
Diablos pulled their face coverings up higher to avoid police lenses as they entered the weekend party, attended by more than 200 bikers.
A members of the Los Diablos, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, leaves the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo.
Houghton said the support clubs are dubbed puppets because the more established biker gang members are pulling the strings.
“The term couldn’t be a better term and that is their term. These guys are puppet masters in the truest sense,” Houghton said. “These are the farm teams for the Hells Angels.”
CFSEU biker experts have already seen puppet club members transfer over to become full-patch Hells Angels in recent years.
With the average age of a Hells Angel in B.C. at 49, new blood is needed, Houghton said.
“If they are going to survive, they need to replace those older members — many of them are retiring — with these younger guys,” Houghton said.
“These young guys are aggressive. They are the ones who want to make money. They don’t have the money and the stature and the reputation especially in the criminal underworld that these old guys have, having built from the early ’80s.”
Houghton said it is important for police to attend events like the anniversary party to documents associations between new puppet clubs and the Hells Angels.
Members of the Horsemen Brotherhood arrive at the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.
Both the Devil’s Army and Langford Savages appeared to be helping with party preparations and were seen carrying in supplies. The Army, based in Campbell River, was manning the barbecue.
Also in attendance were the Throttle Lockers, from 100 Mile House, the Jesters and Shadow Club, both out of Surrey, the Horsemen Brotherhood and a few out-of-province puppet club members.
Houghton said CFSEU is tracking the puppet clubs.
“We know who they are. We watch them very closely and that’s why events like this are very important for us from an intelligence perspective,” he said. “This is an invitation-only event so you have to have some pretty significant status to get invited to this. It is a big event for the Hells Angels.”
Members of the Shadow Club, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, look at the bikes parked outside of the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.
He said the puppet clubs have to mimic the Hells Angels in structure and rules. Not all of them survive. In recent years, the Renegades in Prince George folded after a series of arrests of members.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello, who attended the anniversary party, did not respond to requests for an interview.
Houghton said puppet clubs are used to protect Hells Angels members so “they are multiple degrees separated from the actual street-level distribution of drugs.”
“They do a very good job of insulating themselves. And quite frankly, that is one of the reasons why they’ve been successful. And it is a challenge for police to gather information and evidence to investigate them. Never mind the fact that people are fearful and they don’t want to come forward.”
Police stop members of the Los Diablos, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.
But they can also face risks when Hells Angels are targeted with violence and they are nearby.
“There are real consequences. Even just hanging out with them, it may seem like fun riding bikes with these guys for the weekend, but you are putting yourself at risk, you are putting your family at risk,” Houghton said. “And that’s why we are here to make sure that everyone stays safe.”
Members and guests of the Hell Angels hang out on the back deck of the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.
Timeline of some events related to the Hells Angels in B.C. over the past decade:
July 13, 2009 – Four Hells Angels were convicted on a series of charges stemming from the E-Pandora investigation targeting the East End Hells Angels in Vancouver.
Aug. 14, 2011 – Hells Angel Larry Amero was seriously wounded in a targeted Kelowna shooting that left Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon dead and two others wounded.
Hells Angel Larry Ronald Amero in file photo
Nov. 1, 2012 – Amero charged in Montreal with associates in the Wolf Pack with leading international cocaine smuggling ring.
Jan. 30, 2013 – Two Kelowna Hells Angels, Norman Cocks and Robert Thomas, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Dec. 16, 2014 – Longtime Hells Angel Robert “Fred” Widdifield, a founding member of the Nanaimo chapter, was convicted of extortion and theft. He was later sentenced to five years.
Sept. 30, 2016 – Kelowna Hells Angel Dave Giles convicted of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; James Howard was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; and Bryan Oldham and Shawn Womacks were found guilty of one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine.
Oct. 16, 2016 – High-profile Hells Angel Bob Green is found shot to death in Langley. A day later, his friend and gang associate Jason Wallace turned himself into police. He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter after telling the court his and his family’s lives were threatened after the drunken, drug-fuelled shooting.
Senior B.C. Hells Angel Bob Green.
Oct. 26, 2016 – White Rock Hells Angels prospect Mohammed Rafiq, 43, was shot in the face while driving near his Burnaby home. He survived.
March 19, 2017 – The body of Nanaimo Hells Angels prospect Michael Gregory Widner is found near Sooke, days after he was reported missing. He was murdered.
Aug. 30, 2017 – Montreal conspiracy charges stayed against Hells Angel Larry Amero due to delays in the case.
Jan. 25, 2018 – Hells Angel Larry Amero is charged with conspiracy to kill rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak. Both were shot to death months apart in 2012. The murders are believed to have been retaliation for the 2011 Kelowna shooting.
April 23, 2018 – Civil forfeiture case begins in B.C. Supreme Court, more than a decade after the case began. It has now been adjourned until fall 2018.
