TASK FORCE DISMANTLES SAGUENAY DRUG RING

13 People Arrested, Two Kilograms Of Cocaine Seized Along With 300 Grams Of
Hashish And 600 Ecstacy Pills

Police carried out a series of raids in the Saguenay region yesterday,
dismantling a large drug-trafficking network allegedly headed by the
brother of a Montreal Hells Angel who disappeared mysteriously during the
biker gang war.

Among the people arrested was Richard Roy, 51, a well-known businessman in
the region.

He is also the older brother of Louis (Melou) Roy, a member of the Hells
Angels Nomad chapter who was last seen alive in June 2000, when he lived in
a spacious home in Nouveau Saint Laurent.

The police believe Melou was purged from the gang after a dispute with
other members of the chapter. Months after he disappeared, investigators
learned his share of profits from the the Nomad chapter's cocaine sales
were distributed to other Hells Angels.

While carrying out their operation yesterday, police searched a motel in
Chicoutimi that is owned by members of the Roy family.

Other businesses searched in Chicoutimi included a car-parts store.

The police seized 2 kilograms of cocaine, 300 grams of hashish and 600
ecstacy pills. Revenue Quebec also seized buildings, a car and two
Harley-Davidson motorcycles as part of a parallel investigation.

The Crown intends to prove the $1.2 million worth of items were purchased
with the proceeds of crime.

Melou's brother, Richard, who is not a member of the Hells Angels, appeared
in Chicoutimi court yesterday where he faced charges of drug trafficking
and gangsterism.

About 20 people in all were targeted and at least 13 were arrested by late
yesterday afternoon.

In 2002, the police carried out a similar operation in the Saguenay,
dismantling the Satan's Guard, a puppet gang of a Hells Angels chapter in
Trois Rivieres. Richard Roy is alleged to have headed a network of drug
traffickers who stepped in to fill the void and sold drugs like cocaine in
bars in cities like Chicoutimi, La Baie and Jonquiere.

"The drugs were brought to the region and there was a distribution
network," said Surete du Quebec Sgt. Richard Bourdon.

"They used intimidation to gain control."

The police had been investigating the drug network since August 2003.

A 51-year-old Hells Angel from the Trois Rivieres chapter was sought in
yesterday's operation, but the police were not able to find him at his home.