QUEBEC ARRESTS LATEST BLOW TO BIKERS

Drug-Related Charges Of 15 People The Latest Step In Police Crackdown In
The Province

QUEBEC -- The former Rock Machine biker gang was delivered a crippling blow
when its leaders were arrested yesterday on drug charges as part a sweeping
police operation in the Quebec City region.

Marcel Demers, the founding member of the Rock Machine, and Frederic
Faucher, the gang's leader, were arrested along with 13 other people in a
police operation that began more than a year ago, aimed at the dismantling
of a major drug ring in the region. Key suppliers, couriers and street
pushers were also arrested.

According to police, Mr. Faucher recently negotiated his group's becoming
members of the Texas-based Bandidos biker-gang.

The arrest of the two Rock Machine kingpins means they will be behind bars
at the same time as their bitter rival, Maurice (Mom) Boucher, the head of
the Hells Angels in Quebec.

For six years, the two gangs had been embroiled in a bloody turf war until
they agreed to a truce in September after a botched murder attempt on
Montreal crime reporter Michel Auger. The incident triggered a public
outcry and a police crackdown that jeopardized the illicit drug business in
Quebec.

The regional antigang police squad specifically targeted the gang leaders
but also directed its aim at dismantling their entire network.

The drug ring sold an estimated two kilograms of cocaine a month worth
$400,000, police say. Police were unable to place a figure on the value of
other drugs they say were involved, including PCP, Ecstasy and hashish.
Yesterday police seized cocaine, PCP, and small amounts of other drugs, as
well as $10,000 in cash, two guns and three vehicles.

The 15 gang members arrested will be charged with drug trafficking and
conspiracy to traffic drugs, but a police official said there will probably
be more charges once the Crown prosecutor has a chance to review the
evidence gathered.

Three people whom police describe as Mr. Faucher's principal lieutenants
were among those arrested. They are Gerald Gagnon, Michel Langlois and
Simon Bedard, who in January, 1995, was the target of an assassination when
a bomb blew up his truck. Mr. Bedard, who lost a leg in the blast, was
arrested in St-Lin, north of Montreal.

Surete du Quebec Sergeant Denis Alain said police hope the charges will
strike a major blow against the Rock Machine and the biker gang's attempts
at setting up a base for the Bandidos.

"I can't say that we have annihilated the group. There are still eight or
10 individuals who are members and who are still free. Our investigation
will continue. We still have a lot of work to do," Sgt. Alain said.

The head of the police's regional antigang investigating unit, Paul
Laplante did not deny that the arrests coincided with reports that the Rock
Machine had disbanded on Dec. 1 to become "probationary Bandidos."

He also said it was difficult to speculate what the impact of yesterday's
arrests would be on truce talks held recently between the Rock Machine and
the Hells Angels.

According to Yves Lavigne, journalist and author of three books on the
Hells Angels, only the biker gangs themselves know what the impact will be
on the recent truce.

"The only comment to be made on the truce will be made by the bikers
themselves -- with cadavers -- should the truce be broken," Mr. Lavigne
said yesterday.

"The reasoning that made these two gangs sit down at the table was that the
public, the police and media attention was bad for business. And their
whole reason for being is to make money. That hasn't changed. From a
business and political point of view it would be stupid to go back to war."

Mr. Lavigne also noted that as long as the network remained in place, gang
leaders easily managed their business from behind bars. But if the police
are right in claiming that the gang's entire network was undermined by the
arrests, Mr. Lavigne said it could cripple the gang's money supply, as well
as its ability to survive.

Yesterday's arrests bring to 20 the total number of members of the former
Rock Machine who are in prison, out of 32 full-fledged members and
potential prospects in Quebec. According to police, 15 of 27 Hells Angels
members and prospects in Quebec were also behind bars.

Police believe that the timing of the arrests could not have been worse for
Mr. Faucher, who lost both credibility and influence in his attempts to
have the Rock Machine become full-fledged members of the Bandidos.

Yesterday, police searched a number of premises but failed to come up with
a Bandidos crest, jacket or colours which, according to Mr. Lavigne, could
indicate that, contrary to what police have said, the talks led by Mr.
Faucher have not yet been completed.

The Bandidos were created in 1966 and have 109 chapters in 11 countries. If
successful, the Rock Machine would become the first Bandidos chapter in
Canada. By comparison, the Hells Angels have 167 chapters in 21 countries.

After Mr. Auger was shot, the leaders of the two gangs met secretly in a
small room at the Quebec City courthouse, creating a public outcry.