HELLS ANGELS TARGETED DURING RAIDS

Clubhouse Among Locations Stormed By Provincial Unit

Ontario's Biker Enforcement Unit executed a series of search warrants
Tuesday aimed at Hells Angels members in the Ottawa area.

Police would not disclose the number of searches conducted as part of
an investigation dubbed Project Beckenham, but said the group's
clubhouse on Eighth Line Road was among the addresses raided by dozens
of officers from Ontario and Quebec.

No information was released about arrests or seizures, although in one
case police searched for drugs and evidence that would tie a man to
Hells Angels membership.

"Our investigation has just started and is continuing. We can't say
too much at this time because it will jeopardize the ongoing
investigation," said Det.-Sgt. Len Isnor of the Biker Enforcement
Unit, a joint forces operation comprising several police forces,
including Ottawa police.

It's expected that further details will be released during the next
few days.

During one of the raids, neighbours of a Blossom Park rowhouse heard a
loud bang as officers stormed the home at around 6 a.m.

A neighbour said he saw smoke billowing as armed tactical officers
headed into the rowhouse, located in a complex near Bank and St.
Bernard streets.

Some items were loaded into a large truck parked behind the
property.

Officers at that scene were looking for several items related to the
tenant's alleged ties to Hells Angels, such as his Hells Angels
Ontario Nomads "colours" and photographs of him wearing Hells Angels
colours or paraphernalia.

The Ontario Nomads are an elite Hells Angels chapter based in
Ottawa.

Paraphernalia displaying the words Hells Angels, along with phone
cards, cellphones, membership lists, calendars and computerized
records were among the items sought by officers at the home.

They seized a vehicle belonging to the man, and a Hells Angels support
sticker was removed from a window near the front door, neighbours said.

Officers were also acting on a drug warrant and searched for
controlled substances including cocaine, drug paraphernalia such as
weigh scales, debt lists or cutting agents, along with money and safes.

Police did not provide details of what was seized, but furniture was
removed from the home.

Allegations set out against the man in the warrants include enhancing
the ability of a criminal organization to facilitate or commit an
indictable offence, committing an indictable offence for the benefit
of, or at the direction of, or in association with a criminal group,
along with trafficking in a controlled substance, possession for the
purpose of trafficking and laundering proceeds of crime, among other
charges.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and police would not
say if the man had been arrested or charged.

His landlord, Judi Roy, described the man as a "sweetie to me" and
said she had not heard any complaints about him in the approximately
three years he had been her tenant.

Ottawa police would not comment other than to acknowledge that "the
Biker Enforcement Unit are conducting a series of search warrants in
the City of Ottawa on July 7" as part of an ongoing investigation.