HELLS ANGELS MUST BE TACKLED

The Motorcycle Gang's Activities Hurt The Legitimate Economy Of The
Island

The gangland-style slaying this week of a man seeking police
protection as a witness might not be considered remarkable in a place
like New York or Singapore.

But it happened just north of Qualicum Beach, an otherwise tranquil
place on our tranquil island.

If we're to believe the prophetic sounding words of the victim, Chris
Swann, to a Times Colonist reporter 18 months ago, he could have been
gunned down by what he called "a bunch of conniving mothers"-- members
of the Hells Angels.

Up to now, most Vancouver Island residents might have classified them
as dirty but basically innocuous people, usually with tattoos, who
ride motorcycles and dress in black leather even in the heat of
summer. They often ride, carefully, in convoys and the only visible
nuisance they present is the noise and stink from their machines.

But there are other residents who know the members of the motorcycle
gang more intimately and who, like Swann, have reason to fear them,
though they won't talk about it for that very reason.

The newspaper archives are full of stories in which law enforcement
figures have described outlaw motorcycle gangs as the largest
organized-crime group in B.C. At the top of the list, as of last
September, were the seven chapters of the Hells Angels -- one is in
Nanaimo -- with their affiliated clubs, and "associates" on the
respectable outside who make their criminal activities easier.

According to police they're involved in marijuana grow-ops,
importation of cocaine and weapons, the sex trade, money-laundering
and financial crimes, extortion and violence.

They -- or their stooges, for they tend not to get their own hands
dirty -- infiltrate legitimate businesses, corrupt them and intimidate
those who might protest. With their ill-gotten gains they buy
increasingly expensive real estate, helping to drive up prices, or
businesses like clothing stores, cafes, bars and strip clubs and force
legitimate entrepreneurs out of business with a seemingly
inexhaustible supply of money.

They are, if the word can be used, a pillar of the underground
economy. And they are the scourge of our society.

Here in B.C., as elsewhere, a new co-operative approach to law
enforcement involving Crown prosecutors as well as police forces has
resulted in more charges being laid against gang members. B.C.'s new
proceeds-of-crime law is designed to confiscate their illgotten gains.

But Hells Angels activities are as hard to track down and stamp out as
the mountain pine beetle -- even though the gang members parade openly
in our communities.

Like terrorists, they continue to make some of us live in fear.

This week's shooting should make us reconsider our priorities and stop
worrying so much about panhandlers, traffic lanes on Fort Street or
leashing dogs in parks and more about keeping us all safe.

The Hells Angels should be treated as a domestic terror organization.
We should encourage those who make and enforce our laws in their
efforts to eradicate them.