GANGS WATCHED FOR DRUG-TRADE TAKEOVER

Police are watching to see which criminal gangs try to take over Quebec's
billion-dollar-a-year drug trade after their spring cleaning of the outlaw
Hells Angels and their cohorts.

"The Hells Angels and the Nomads controlled drugs, particularly cocaine and
hashish, throughout Quebec," Inspector Francois Bigras of Montreal Urban
Community police told reporters yesterday.

But after Wednesday's ambitious assault on those biker clubs and their
affiliates - which resulted in 125 arrests across the province - the head
of the Montreal regional task force said the gangs "will have to rethink
their (drug-dealing) methods."

Bigras noted that the Hells and Nomads were responsible for the
distribution of hundreds of kilograms of coke and hash a month.

"Other (biker-gang) chapters may try to take over the market," Sgt. Tom
O'Neil of the local RCMP detachment said at yesterday's task force press
conference. "We have a contingency plan for other gangs waiting to fill the
void."

O'Neil pointed out that RCMP officers in South America, the Caribbean and
Europe are also involved in rounding up members of the Hells and its
affiliated clubs - the Nomads, Rockers and Evil Ones.

Bigras credited the public for anonymously contributing information that
helped the task force gather evidence against the bikers.

In addition to the 125 arrests made across Quebec during Wednesday's
unprecedented operation involving 2,000 officers, there were two more in
Ontario and one in British Columbia.

Bigras said warrants were still outstanding for Walter Stadnick, David
Carroll, Andre Chouinard, Steven Falls, Paul Fontaine, Stephane Hilaguy and
Daniel Jarry, charging them with murder, attempted murder, gangsterism and
proceeds of crime.

Four warrants based on drug-related charges remain out for Sylvain Menard,
Guy Dube, Stephane Plouffe and Stephane Chagnon.

Besides the arrests, there were 175 seizures of property on Wednesday.

Among the seized goods were: 20 buildings; three stolen vehicles; 70
weapons, including five machine guns and a grenade launcher; $8.6 million
Canadian and $2.7 million U.S.; more than 120 kilos of hash and 10 kilos of
cocaine.

Meanwhile, guards at Bordeaux jail fear they don't have the manpower to
handle a horde of bikers.

"We need 80 more (guards) right now, people with experience, but nobody
eligible is available," Daniel Legault, vice-president of the Syndicat des
Agents de la Paix en Services Correctionnels du Quebec, said yesterday.

While he conceded the Public Security Department has promised to find more
staff, Legault said "there is nobody on the waiting lists."