Ganging up in Ottawa

Cops Warn Of Looming Turf War As Hells Angels Flex Muscles

A bloody battle between rival bike gangs is brewing, with the capital's
lucrative drug trade as the prize, police experts warn.

Yesterday's release of the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada's 1999
Report on Organized Crime coincidentally corresponded with a rare Outaouais
muscle-flexing visit from about 50 Hells Angels.

And police fear it's a disturbing sign of things to come.

"The establishment of a chapter in Ontario has been a longstanding goal for
the Hells Angels," the annual bulletin states, based on information
collected from 370 law-enforcement agencies nationally. "It would appear
the Hells Angels are seeking control in Ottawa and Cornwall."

Although criminal giants in Quebec, the motorcycle gang has not yet
ventured into the capital where police say narcotics-peddling is split
between the Outlaws -- currently Eastern Ontario's only biker club -- and
Lebanese and Italian syndicates.

Each Hells Angels expansion inevitably results in more local drug
trafficking and violent crimes, the report states.

It adds that rival Quebec gang Rock Machine has moved into Kingston using
the city's many penitentiaries and halfway houses as a market for drugs.

The deadly Montreal-area turf war raging between Hells Angels and Rock
Machine members resulted in 27 homicides and 27 attempted murders last year
alone.

103 KILLINGS

Since July 1994, it's resulted in 103 killings and 450 violent incidents,
including bombings and arsons -- a crime wave that could follow the bikers
into Eastern Ontario.

The CISC predicts their battle will "escalate the level of outlaw
motorcycle gang-related violence in Quebec and Ontario."

Regional police say their intelligence branch is aware of the threat posed
locally by the Hells Angels.

Despite the report's warnings, however, they don't expect the gang to be
venturing into Ontario this weekend.

"Everyone has been notified of their presence," Staff-Sgt. Jacques Corbeil
said. "We'll monitor if they cross over and react to whatever happens."

Police in Quebec said no major problems had arisen from the Gatineau show
of force.

"We're on standby in a sense," MRC des Collines Lt. Bob Dawson said, adding
that five other Quebec forces will be on the lookout for any trouble before
their scheduled departure today.

The report also states that the capital is also home to violent Asian
street gangs and that the Cornwall-area Akwesasne reserve is a hotspot for
tobacco, alcohol and firearms smuggling.