EFFECTS OF CRACKDOWN ON BIKERS 'SHORT LIVED'

Military Report Warns Outlaw Gangs Extremely Resilient

Police operations against outlaw motorcycle gangs have diminished
their influence and put a dent in criminal activities, but such
successes will likely be short-lived, according to a newly released
military intelligence report obtained by the Citizen.

The heavily censored report cited successful police operations from
2001 to 2003 against the Hells Angels, the Bandidos and the Outlaws
motorcycle gangs. But the 2003 intelligence study also warns that
biker gangs are resilient in bouncing back and will use " lower-level
criminals and supporters" in the future to expand their influence.

The Defence Department report, produced by military police criminal
intelligence officers, pointed to a series of raids, including a 2001
operation resulting in the arrest of approximately 40 Outlaws gang
members, that left that biker club in a state of "disarray and their
criminal influence diminished" in Ontario.

"The OMG (outlaw motorcycle gang) world's involvement in illegal and
organized criminal activities has certainly diminished to a slow
pace; however the national outlook on these successes is believed to
be short-lived, and that OMG members will conduct these tasks and
'expand their influence' through their various lower-level criminals
and supporters," noted that report called Operation Paramount.

The Citizen requested the report under the Access to Information law,
but Defence Department officials withheld the records for more than
15 months. The department's access to information branch only
released the report after the newspaper filed a complaint with
Information Commissioner John Reid.

Capt. Mark Giles said while military investigators would still
collect information on defence personnel who have affiliations with
biker gangs, "Operation Paramount is not the same priority as it was
in 2003 and 2004."

"Our investigators are not as engaged with it as they were in that
time period," he added.

Capt. Giles suggested that Operation Paramount, along with media
coverage of the fact the Canadian Forces are keeping tabs on military
personnel with biker affiliations, contributed to a decline in such
cases. He said in the past, such incidents involved small numbers of
military personnel and were usually minor affiliations.

In 2004, the military reported to the government that it had
monitored 62 Canadian Forces personnel suspected of being linked to
outlaw biker gangs, according to records previously obtained by the
Citizen. The personnel were believed to be involved in a range of
activities -- from sporting Hells Angels insignias, to moonlighting
as security guards for gang clubhouses, to trafficking drugs.

The Forces launched Operation Paramount in the spring of 2002 as a
result of an increase in reports of military personnel associating
with outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Capt. Giles said he did not have details on numbers of military
members associated with such gangs, but noted that the Forces would
likely not release those figures to the public.