WINNIPEG ON VERGE OF BIKER WAR: POLICE

Winnipeg police say the recent local collapse of the Hells Angels has
created a toxic environment that has the city on the verge of a biker
war.

"Tensions are extremely high ... Violence is imminent," a veteran
police officer with extensive knowledge of the organized crime scene
wrote last month in newly released court documents obtained yesterday
by the Winnipeg Free Press.

Police explain in detail why they believe the relative calm of the
past few months is about to be broken -- including evidence of gang
members stockpiling weapons in preparation to take out their rival "by
any means necessary." The document was used to obtain a search warrant
for a home in the city's East Kildonan neighbourhood, where a loaded
handgun was found hidden in a backyard last month.

Police say a pair of newly arrived gangs are at the centre of the
brewing battle as they try to fill the "vacuum" created by a major
undercover sting operation dubbed "Project DIVIDE" that ended last
December. Police used a career criminal turned secret agent to
infiltrate the Hells Angels, resulting in the arrests of 34
high-ranking members and associates.

Police say every member of the Zig Zag Crew -- the Hells Angels
so-called "puppet club" -- was put behind bars while only a handful of
Hells Angels remain free. With the demand for drugs as high as ever,
the criminal underworld was thrown into turmoil.

"The Rock Machine has been attempting to establish a foothold in the
province of Manitoba due to the arrests in DIVIDE. Members of the Rock
Machine have been capitalizing on the fact the Hells Angels members
and supporters are low in number and have been 'flying' their colours
throughout the city of Winnipeg, enraging members of the Manitoba
Hells Angels," police wrote in their affidavit.

The Rock Machine have a long history with the Hells Angels in Quebec,
especially during the 1990s, when dozens of gang members were killed.
But they are new to Winnipeg.

The Hells Angels responded quickly despite their diminished state,
according to police. Two long-time members of the gang assembled a new
group in January to stand up to Rock Machine members trying to take
over Winnipeg's drug scene. The "Redlined Support Crew" is comprised
entirely of imposing young men who are free in the community and have
previously shown their allegiance to the Hells Angels --at least informally.

The Redlined Crew made their first big impression in mid-January when
they allegedly attacked a Rock Machine member who had been lured to an
auto repair shop that has connections to the Hells Angels.