HELLS BUST LEAKED ONLINE

Failed Secrecy: Court Document, Raid Rumours Gave 11 Days' Notice

TORONTO - An Internet blogger leaked a confidential court document on
a massive bust of the Hells Angels biker gang clubhouses 11 days
before tactical officers launched their dawn raids this week,
according to yesterday's Toronto Star.

Leaked on the Internet was a judge's order allowing federal
authorities to seize the Hells Angels fortified clubhouse on Eastern
Avenue in Toronto, which was home to the largest Hells Angels chapter
in Canada.

"It's very shocking," Toronto-area crime expert Antonio Nicaso told
the Star.

"That could have jeopardized the whole operation. It can be dangerous
for the informer. It can be dangerous for everyone."

Despite police comments that they needed extreme secrecy to protect
officers, hints of the upcoming raids and a digital file of a court
order allowing authorities to secretly seize the Eastern Avenue
clubhouse were posted on at least five Internet sites, including one
for crime aficionados, on March 25.

The web postings were still available Friday.

"It could be a mistake or it could be something that was done with
malice," Nicaso said in the Star, adding it would be unfair to
conclude the bikers have a mole in policing or the courts.

Steve Skurka, a Toronto lawyer who defended two Hells Angels in a
previous trial, told the Star he's never heard of anything like this.

"Certainly it's unprecedented . . . Search warrants are supposed to be
conducted by surprise."

For a full day after the raids began at 6 a.m. Wednesday across
southern Ontario, New Brunswick and Vancouver, police said they
couldn't release much information because they wanted to ensure
officers' safety.

According to the Star, the Internet postings included a PDF file of
the judge's secret order, which transferred control of the Eastern
Avenue clubhouse, a house in east Toronto and another in Barrie, Ont.,
from the Hells Angels to the federal government.

The blogger was identified only as "drmm," "drmmfamm" and "a
researcher from Toronto, Canada." The order was issued on March 14 in
London, Ont.