UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Asian gangs, Hells Angels co-operating in the business of crime, says
expert

Fears from maxed-out Edmonton cops that outlaw bikers and Asian street
gangs are working together were confirmed yesterday by one of Canada's
leading gang experts.

Quebec provincial police biker cop Sgt. Guy Ouellette said yesterday
Canada's organized crime community is good at splitting up the
proceeds of their nefarious networks and respect each other's territory.

"They will share the pie. If they have some problem they will settle
the problem at the higher level," said Ouellette, who added that
Edmonton is not unique and similar uneasy partnerships exist in big
cities across the country.

Another drive-by shooting was reported Friday in Abbotsfield about
11:30 p.m. Police said the shots probably came from a semi-automatic
pistol fired from one car at another.

No arrests have been made and police are still investigating. There
were no reports of injuries.

It's the sixth shooting since June and has Edmonton police concerned
that their efforts to stop the war could take staff away from other
investigations.

Ouellette backed up Edmonton police suspicions that Vietnamese groups
fighting over cocaine sales have links with bikers and other crime
groups.

"We suspect there might be some peripheral activity with other
organized crime entities including local street gangs, including
outlaw motorcycle gangs, but the power struggle that is currently
going on appears to be between two groups,'' said Edmonton police
spokesman Sgt. Bryan Boulanger earlier.

It's difficult to trace the origins of the latest flurry of violence
rocking Edmonton streets, Ouellette said.

Ouellette has been a cop for 30 years and ran the drug unit for nine
years before moving to the anti-biker task force. He maintains a
knowledge of Alberta crime issues through regular contact with police
here.

The spark that set off the explosion of gunfire in the city's Asian
community might not even have originated in Alberta but is being
fought out here through family and gang links, he said.

"It could be a family problem from their native country,'' he said.
"It could be a drug network, it could be a family network."

Bikers are used to working in a shadowy partnership between Asian
crime groups as well as Russian and Italian mafia, he added.

Hells Angels have a worldwide network and are relatively new to
Edmonton with the first chapter arriving here in 1997.

Ouellette said maintaining strength in the anti-biker unit could be
difficult to do given the high profile the drive-bys have had. He
pointed to B.C. as an example where the Asian gang problem has a
political priority so more investigators have been assigned to it
while the biker file remains relatively unmanned.

It's important the city police put one of their top investigators on
the Asian gang problem to restore the public's confidence, he said,
adding the creation of a task force is an important first step.