The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, an international outlaw biker gang, has been involved in multiple crimes, alleged crimes, and violent incidents in Canada. The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) has designated the Hells Angels an outlaw motorcycle gang.2004 Annual Report- Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, cisc.gc.ca Hells Angels MC have been linked with drug trafficking and production, as well as many violent crimes including murder, in Canada.
Background According to CBC News, the Hells Angels have thirty-four chapters operating in Canada with 460 full-fledged (patched) members. According to this article, the Hells Angels had at that time fifteen chapters in Ontario, eight in British Columbia, five in Quebec, three in Alberta, two in Saskatchewan and one in Manitoba.
In a speech to the House of Commons, Bloc Québécois MP Réal Ménard (Hochelaga) stated that there were thirty-eight HAMC chapters across Canada in the mid-1990s. The Vancouver Sun newspaper reports that Canada has more Hells Angels members per capita than any other country, including the U.S., where there are chapters in about twenty states.The Vancouver Sun (June 10, 2005), B.C.'s Hells Angels: Rich and Powerful The Canadian Hells Angels have partnered the Medellín Cartel, the Rizzuto crime family,Mafia busts: Sweeping raids, 48 arrests, and a murder plot Paul Cherry, Montreal Gazette (20 November 2015) the Sinaloa CartelEl Chapo's Sinaloa cartel made nearly $3M a day in Canada, former DEA agent claims Andrew Russell, Global News (9 January 2019) and the West End Gang'Brilliant' operation targets underworld's upper crust Linda Gyulai, Montreal Gazette (20 November 2015) in criminal operations. Additionally, the club has also formed alliances with various street gangs, including the Independent Soldiers,Hells Angel, convicted killer charged in high-profile gang executions Kendra Mangione and Sheila Scott, CTV News (25 January 2018) the Red Scorpions, the United NationsThe UN Gang, and the Canada-Mexico Connection Tim Wilson, InSight Crime (January 19, 2012) and the White Boy Posse,Money, drugs and violence: the evolution of White Boy Posse Brent Wittmeier, Global News (10 December 2012) and smaller motorcycle gangs, such as Bacchus,Bacchus gang's 'criminal organization' designation could lead to more prosecutions Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (July 30, 2018) the Gate KeepersGate Keepers motorcycle club opens Halifax clubhouse on Fern Lane Jack Julian, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (27 August 2015) and the Red Devils.Alleged Hells Angels affiliate charged with beating rival with bat in broad daylight near St. Catharines convenience store Peter Edwards, St. Catharines Standard (17 June 2020)
The Hells Angels established their first Canadian chapters in the province of Quebec during the seventies. On 5 December 1977, the first Canadian chapter was founded in Montreal when a club called the Popeyes led by Yves Buteau were "patched over". In September 1979, new Angels chapters were established in Laval and Sherbrooke. In Western Canada, in 1983 a Vancouver club known as Satan's Angels were patched over to form the first BC chapter. In December 1984, the 13th Tribe biker club in Halifax, Nova Scotia led by David "Wolf" Carroll "patched over" to become the first Hells Angels chapter in Atlantic Canada. The Outlaws and several affiliated independent clubs such as Satan's Choice and Para-Dice Riders were able to keep the Angels from assuming a dominant position in Ontario, Canada's most populous province until 2000. On the Prairies, the Grim Reapers of Alberta, Los Bravos in Manitoba, and several other independent clubs across the Prairies formed a loose alliance that kept the Hells Angels from assuming dominance in the Prairie provinces until the late nineties. In 1997 the Grim Reapers club of Calgary, Alberta were patched over and in 1998, the Rebels of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan joined. By the end of 2000, under the leadership of Walter "Nurget" Stadnick, and after the largest patchover in Canadian history occurred in Montreal with the bulk of the Ontario biker clubs "patching over" on 29 December 2000, the Hells Angels had become the dominant club not just in BC and Quebec, but all across Canada, with chapters in at least seven of ten provinces and affiliates in at least two of the three territories. On 12 January 2002, a Hells Angels convention in Toronto was gate-clashed by the mayor of Toronto, Mel Lastman, who was photographed shaking hands with an Angel, Tony Biancaflora, and told the media the Angels were "fantastic" for bringing so much "business" to Toronto, saying: "You know, they just a nice bunch of guys". Josée-Anne Desrochers, the mother of the 11-year-old Daniel Desrochers killed by an Angel bombing in 1995, stated: "I find it degrading. Is the government with us or is it the bikers who are with the government?". In 2006, the Bandidos, the only possible rivals to the Hells Angels in Canada, self-destructed with the Shedden massacre, leaving the Angels as the only national outlaw biker club in Canada. An officer with the Ontario Provincial Police stated that after the Shedden massacre that: "The Hells Angels were on easy street. They had a monopoly across Canada."
By province Alberta The Hells Angels expanded into Alberta when they "patched over" the Grim Reapers biker gang to form chapters in Lethbridge, Red Deer, Edmonton and Calgary, in July 1997.Timeline: Two decades of the Hells Angels in Calgary Zane Schwartz, Calgary Herald (21 July 2017) Up to 30 Grim Reapers members became Hells Angels during a "patch over" ceremony held in Red Deer.Angels in Alberta Juliet Williams and Rick Molina, Calgary Herald (6 August 1999) According to the Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta (CISA), the Hells Angels in Alberta have failed to make significant inroads in the criminal underworld of the province, in stark contrast to the Hells Angels in other provinces.Policing Organized Crime p. 159 Peter Gottschalk (2010) One CISA report noted: "Without making light of their propensity for extreme violence—augmented by loyalty to the club’s name—members of the Hells Angels continue to lack in criminal business savvy. They have proven themselves to be an available source of ‘muscle’ either for their own endeavors or for other criminal organizations. They are preoccupied with the supremacy of their name within the criminal biker subculture".
The Calgary Hells Angels chapter was forced to abandon a fortified clubhouse under construction in Bowness because of building code violations. On 2 April 1998, utility workers cut the gas and power supply to the clubhouse after construction workers ignored a stop work order which had been issued because the Hells Angels failed to apply for permits. The Hells Angels subsequently filed a $100,000 lawsuit against the city. The president of the Calgary chapter, Kenneth Michael Szczerba, also plotted to bomb the homes of alderman Dale Hodges and community activist Morningstarre Perdue, who had opposed the building of the clubhouse.Calgary alderman glad biker going to jail for bomb plot Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (30 June 2001) Szczerba was charged on 4 August 1999 with three counts of counselling mischief endangering life and one count of counselling assault causing bodily harm. On 29 June 2001, he was sentenced to one year in jail and two years probation after being convicted of counselling another person in the bomb plot.Former Hells Angel jailed for bomb plot The Globe and Mail (30 June 2001)
On 30 January 2004, Joey Campbell, a probationary member of the Edmonton Bandidos chapter, was shot and killed along with another man, Robert Charles Simpson, in the parking lot of St. Pete's Men's Club, an Edmonton strip club.Edmonton shootings may be tied to biker turf war Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (3 February 2004) Although there was widespread speculation that the Hells Angels had killed Campbell and Simpson,Patchover of Alberta Bandidos gives Hells Angels monopoly Timothy Appleby, The Globe and Mail (25 October 2004) the murders remain unsolved.No Bandidos in Alberta since 2004 Ryan Cormier, Edmonton Journal (12 April 2006) A period of peace between the Hells Angels and the Bandidos followed. In October 2004, the Hells Angels established a monopoly over the outlaw biker subculture in Alberta when 18-to-20 members of the Bandidos Edmonton chapter, the Bandidos' entire membership in the province, "patched over" to join the Hells Angels Nomads chapter based in Red Deer. After the merger, which effectively tripled the Hells Angels' membership in Alberta, three motorcycle gangs remained in the province; the Hells Angels, and two other gangs who work directly for the Hells Angels.
British Columbia
The first three British Columbia HAMC chapters, in Nanaimo, Vancouver and White Rock, were founded on 23 July 1983 after a merger of the Satan's Angels club.B.C.'s Hells Angels: Rich and Powerful Vancouver Sun (11 September 2004) A fourth chapter, in East Vancouver, was established later that year and became the Hells Angels' leading chapter in the province. According to a joint report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the club was in control of "all outlaw motorcycle gang activity in British Columbia" by the mid-1980s. The Hells Angels have since expanded to ten chapters and membership of over a hundred in the province.Hells Angels still expanding after 35 years in B.C. Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun (19 July 2018) The Hells Angels control the methamphetamine trade in British Columbia.Hells Angels control booming crystal meth: report CBC News (19 April 2006)
In late 2004 to 2005, the culmination of investigations into the actions of the motorcycle club led to charges against 18 people, including members of the Hells Angels and other associates of the gang.
Manitoba
In August 1996, three men were shot dead inside a home in West Kildonan, Winnipeg as part of a feud over control of drug and prostitution rackets between members of the Manitoba Warriors and associates of the Hells Angels.Shooting leaves three dead Winnipeg Free Press (30 March 2008) Two men were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for twenty-five years. A third accused was acquitted.3 dead, 3 hurt in Winnipeg shooting spree Toronto Star (30 March 2008) The Hells Angels' expansion into Manitoba began with a relationship with Los Bravos, a local motorcycle club. In 2000, Los Bravos were "patched over," becoming a full-fledged HAMC chapter.
On February 15, 2006, the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force, along with over 150 police officers from the RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service and Brandon Police Service, made numerous arrests and conducted searches as part of the investigation of Project Defense. Thirteen people were indicted on a variety of charges, including drug trafficking, extortion, proceeds of crime, and organized crime related offenses.
Project Defense was initiated in November 2004 and focused on high level members of drug trafficking cells in the province of Manitoba, including members of the Manitoba Hells Angels. During the investigation police made numerous seizures that totaled in excess of seven kilograms of cocaine and three kilograms of methamphetamine from drug traffickers within the Manitoba Hells Angels organization and other drug trafficking cells. Arrest warrants were issued for thirteen individuals and 12 search warrants were authorized for locations in Winnipeg and area.