POLICE AGENT WAS ONCE HELLS ANGELS ASSOCIATE

Man Told Of Drug Trafficking By East End Chapter

A man hired by RCMP to infiltrate the East End chapter of the Hells
Angels was an associate of the bike gang who acted as a confidential
informant before being hired as a police agent, prosecutors say.

That new information is contained in a 45-page reply by prosecutors
to an application by defence lawyers that drug charges be stayed
against three Hells Angels arrested last July.

The defence alleges that the agent, who cannot be named, was out of
control and committed many crimes, including assaults, trafficking in
and using steroids, and fraud against the RCMP.

They claim the crimes were not properly exempted by the law and that
the agent's police handlers were aware of the dangers and failed to
rein him in.

The Crown says there is no evidence to back the defence claims.

"The RCMP was cognizant of the tremendous risks and pressures under
which [the agent] was operating and therefore the necessity to
carefully monitor the situation," says the Crown report released
yesterday by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Victor Curtis after an
application by The Province.

The report says the RCMP first became aware of the agent in July 2003
when he and Mission City Hells Angels member were arrested in
connection with a kidnapping and assault.

After his arrest, he indicated he wished to help police investigate
the Angels but didn't want any favours in return, says the report.

It says that between July 2003 and April 2004, the man told police
about methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking by the East End
chapter. From April 2004 to January 2005, he was hired as an agent
for up to $1 million, depending on the results.

At the conclusion of the RCMP's Project E Pandora, 18 people were charged.

The defence application, to be heard Sept. 11, deals with drug
charges against Ronaldo Lising, Ryan Renaud and Nima Gha-vami.