KEEPING CRIME IN CHECK

Last Week's Massive Raid On The Hells Angels Just Beginning Of Latest
Battle Against Group

Last week's massive police blitz against the Hells Angels has the potential
to cripple the criminal organization for some time.

In a push against the biker gang, more than 2,000 police officers in
Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia swarmed into clubhouses, homes and
businesses in 77 communities.

The police were armed with arrest warrants for 135 people, including 29
full-patch members of the Hells Angels, nine prospective members, and one
man described as a "hangaround," a junior position for someone wanting to
become a gang member. By the end of the day more than 100 people had been
arrested. Police had also seized at least $500,000 in "pocket cash" and
$7.5-million in other assets during the raids.

According to an RCMP spokesman, the raids were intended to destabilize the
organization by jailing its high-ranking members and reducing its financial
resources.

On this count, police say, they have achieved their goal. But the raid can
only be considered the first step in eliminating the violence and crimes
perpetrated by motorcycle gangs.

Now, police services - including Sudbury and the Ontario Provincial Police
- - must remain vigilant and ensure the bikers' now tenuous foothold in the
province does not get stronger.

It would be naive to believe Sudbury is insulated from the reach of
motorcycle gangs and their criminal activities.

Last December, the Canadian Press reported that a police source said 168
members of the ParaDice Riders, Satan's Choice, Lobos and Last Chance biker
gangs joined the Hells Angels at an initiation ceremony held near Montreal.

The patch-over ceremony came as no surprise to Ontario police. "It was only
a matter of time for them to set up a chapter" in the Sudbury area, a
spokesman said.

The Satan's Choice club has a long history in the area and has been linked
to a number of violent crimes ... a tradition which the Hells Angels also
shares.

The notorious biker gang is renowned for its defiant criminal ways,
especially when it comes to drug trafficking, prostitution and murder.

Indeed, the war between the Hells Angels and Rock Machine in Quebec has not
only taken the lives of gang members, but also of innocent bystanders.

Police must continue to target biker gangs, keeping them off-balance with
surveillance, investigations and raids, before the gang's propensity for
crime and violence makes its presence known in our community.

What do you think? Send us your opinion in a Letter to the Editor at 33
MacKenzie St., Sudbury, P3C 4Y1, or fax it to 674-6834 or email it to
editorial@thesudburystar.com