HELLS ANGELS ARRESTED ACROSS CANADA

At Least Two People Taken Into Custody In B.C. In Ontario-Related
Sting

At least two people have been arrested in B.C. following a series of
cross-country raids yesterday against the Hells Angels and affiliated
gangs.

RCMP Insp. Gary Shinkaruk, head of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Task
Force, said a long-time full-patch member of the Haney chapter of the
Angels was taken into custody. He would not say what charges are expected.

"I can confirm there have been a couple of arrests," said
Shinkaruk.

"Search warrants were executed out here, but not at
clubhouses."

He said more details will be released today in Ontario.

"It is definitely tied into an investigation there [Ontario] that has
taken a long time," said Shinkaruk. "As of yet there have been no
raids on clubhouses in B.C."

Rick Ciarniello, a Hells Angels' spokesman in B.C., said the
cross-Canada raids are part of a public-relations campaign by police.

"It is their goal to keep us in the news," Ciarniello
said.

"The police have learned to use the media very, very well when it
suits them."

Police said there are about 95 full-patch members of the Hells Angels
in B.C.

The raids come as NDP solicitor-general critic Mike Farnworth
introduced a private member's bill to ban anyone wearing gang colours
from bars and restaurants.

"In my constituency people are really concerned about the growth of
criminal gangs," Farnworth said.

He said similar legislation is already in place in Manitoba and
Saskatchewan.

"The use of logos and patches is used as a message to threaten and
intimidate," he said. "People have had enough."

Ciarniello said Farnworth's bill would be challenged in
court.

"The clothing police, really," said Ciarniello.

Yesterday's raids netted 30 suspects in Ontario.

The pre-dawn operation also targeted clubhouses in New Brunswick and
has left the gang "reeling," said biker expert Julian Sher, but he
cautioned that the war isn't over.

"They are not down, they are not laying flat on the mat, they haven't
thrown in the gauntlet, but they are angry and, I dare say, a bit
worried," said Sher, co-author of Angels of Death.

"For the first time in the last couple of years, the Hells Angels have
been reeling."

There were 32 raids in Ontario, at least a dozen in Toronto alone.
Clubhouses in Niagara Falls, Waterloo, Barrie, London, Hamilton, as
well as Durham, Peel and York regions were also raided.