POLICE SWOOP ON PROVINCE'S BIKER GANGS, ARRESTING 30

Early-morning raids yield drugs, guns, cars and 15 'full-patch'
members of Hells Angels

In the most concerted police assault on the Ontario Hells Angels
since the biker gang's expansion into the province almost six years
ago, 30 members or associates were scooped up in early-morning raids
yesterday, along with guns, vehicles and quantities of cocaine,
ecstasy pills and speed.

"This thing was agent-driven," a police source said, meaning that
undercover officers had been able to infiltrate the Angels, which
traditionally has been extremely difficult, and expedite "sting" operations.

The sweep focused on Toronto, Oshawa, Windsor and Niagara Region and
involved more than 500 police officers, including 21 heavily armed
tactical units. Also detained was a member of the loosely affiliated
but much smaller Vagabonds club.

The bulk of the arrests targeted the homes of Hells Angels members,
most of whom were asleep, and no resistance was met, the source said.
In all, 15 "full-patch" Hells Angels were picked up in the raids,
including a number of senior players.

Also hit was a health club in western Toronto, where about 20 people
were questioned but were not detained.

As well, several biker clubhouses were searched.

A news conference this morning will outline the multiple criminal
charges, which encompass drug trafficking, the possession of
restricted weapons (including handguns, long guns and automatic
weapons) and counselling to commit murder.

Organized-crime charges have also been laid, and follow a watershed
court ruling 14 months ago involving an extortion case in which a
Superior Court judge in Barrie, Ont., ruled the Hells Angels club to
be an identifiable criminal organization.

Eleven police forces took part in yesterday's raids, which were led
by the Ontario Provincial Police's Biker Enforcement Unit and were
the culmination of an 18-month undercover operation dubbed Project Tandem.

Most of those arrested were taken to 42 Division police station in Scarborough.

"All I can tell you is I'm extremely pleased," said another senior
police source, calling the amount of cocaine seized "substantial."

The Angels' presence in Ontario dates from December of 2000, when
such outlaw motorcycle gangs as Satan's Choice, the Para-Dice Riders
and the Last Chance joined the Quebec-based biker gang, in a ritual
that involved literally "patching over" their colours with an
industrial sewing machine.

Since then, their numbers have grown.

There are 16 Hells Angels chapters in Ontario, the most recent
addition being in Hamilton, comprising about 250 full-patch members
or close associates -- roughly half the Canadian total.

The Vagabonds, however, did not join the Angels. Nor did the Angels'
arch-rivals the Bandidos, eight of whom were found shot to death and
stuffed in four vehicles in April near Shedden, west of London.

Police believe the slaughter, in which eight people have been
charged, stemmed from a Bandido initiative to join the Hells Angels.

The Greater Toronto Area is home to 10 of Ontario's 16 Hells Angels
chapters, the largest -- about 34 strong -- based in a fortified
clubhouse on Toronto's Eastern Avenue.

Two motorbikes sat at the front of the clubhouse yesterday but there
was little sign of activity.

"Go away," said a man when a reporter rang the doorbell seeking comment.

Nor could designated Hells Angels spokesman Donny Petersen be reached
at his Scarborough motorcycle shop, Heavy Duty Cycles Ltd. And the
gang's raunchy website, which normally responds swiftly to
Angels-related developments, made no mention of the arrests, the
latest in a series of setbacks for the organization, whose ranks have
been dented by several mass arrests in the past two years.