POLICE HIT BIKERS, GANGS

Crackdown Leads To 47 Arrests Linked To Drugs In Quebec, Ontario

MONTREAL (CP) -Police in Quebec and Ontario say 47 people have been
arrested in a crackdown on outlaw bikers and street gangs allegedly
trafficking cocaine in Montreal and Ottawa.

About 700 police took part in raids that, by yesterday afternoon, had
scooped 44 men and three women among the roughly 67 arrest warrants sworn out.

Significant quantities of cocaine, crack, ecstasy, marijuana and
hashish were seized, along with speed, Viagra and steroids.

Police said one organization targeted is a puppet club of the Hells
Angels gang, which took part in a turf war over drugs in the 1990s.

Among those arrested was Jean Lavertue, who represented Canada in
weightlifting at the 1996 Olympics.

Insp. Bernard Lamothe of the Montreal police organized crime division
said Operation Axe was one of the biggest ever carried out by the
city force, which was aided by officers from the RCMP, Quebec
provincial police and several other cities, including Ottawa.

"This investigation led to the discovery of links between the heads
of a major street gang and two other criminal organizations" active
in drug trafficking, said Lamothe. "The objective was to put them out
of business."

Organizations hit yesterday were generating "a couple of hundred
thousand dollars a week" in drug profits, Lamothe said.

"These were career criminals, mostly, who we were aiming at," he
said. "We're talking about heads of organizations."

Charges to be laid include gangsterism, drug trafficking, weapons
possession and conspiracy to commit murder. The raids also netted
$600,000 in cash and 25 guns.

Two people arrested were inmates, one in Laval, Que., and the other
in Kingston, Ont. Prosecutors say the case will break new ground by
laying a second set of gangsterism charges against people already in
jail for that crime.

Cmdr. Denis Mainville of the organized crime anti-gang unit said the
investigation was one of the most complex undertaken by the force,
utilizing electronic eavesdropping and other tactics.

Arraignments will take place today. Reports have said some of the
accused are close to Maurice (Mom) Boucher, a Hells Angels kingpin
now serving a jail sentence.

Yves Lavigne, author of three books on the Hells Angels, said bikers
rounded up in a 2001 sweep have now been released from jail and
rejoined the drug trade.

"... Kids are fighting to make money to expand their turf and to
prove themselves to the Hells Angels," he said.