HELLS ANGELS SLOWED DOWN BY PROJECT DANTE

Police held a press conference June 22 to announce the take down of a
local cell of the Hells Angels following a covert investigation that
began in September 2003. Project Dante, a joint forces investigation,
arrested and charged over a dozen people for their connection to drug
trafficking, conspiracy and organized crime on June 21.

"These individuals are highly influential in the Kingston area drug
trade," said Detective Inspector Don Bell of the OPP Biker Enforcement
Unit.

Over a million dollars street value of controlled substances including
cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana were seized during the investigation
along with around $50,000 cash and Hells Angels paraphernalia, patches
and jewellery.

Detective Superintendent Jim Miller of the OPP Drug Enforcement Unit
said vehicles and properties were in the process of being seized as
proceeds of crime.

Of those arrested three were members of the Hells Angels Nomads
Chapter and the rest were associates. According to Bell, the Hells
Angels members try to distance themselves from actual crimes. Those
arrested were part of a cell that operated in Kingston used to funnel
drugs into the area.

Most of those arrested were from the Kingston and Quebec. The only
local man arrested was 31-year-old Isaac White of the Deseronto area
who was arrested on June 17. At the time of the press conference,
police had issued warrants for the arrests of two more people in
relation to the investigation.

Bell declined to comment on the status within the organization of the
Hells Angels members arrested.

"We don't focus on the individual's position in the organization. We
have to focus on the individual's position in the community," said
Bell.

"I think we've dealt a significant blow to the Hells Angels,
especially the Nomads," he added.

The Nomads Chapter of the Hells Angels is centred in the Ottawa area
and operates in the eastern portion of the province and in Quebec
according to Bell. It is one of 16 chapters in Ontario. Captain Pierre
Lebeau from the Surete du Quebec, said the Hells Angels don't have any
borders. Hells Angels members from Quebec work in Ontario and vice
versa.

Project Dante is comprised of officers from the OPP's Drug Enforcement
Section and the Biker Enforcement Unit, Kingston Police, Ottawa
Police, Belleville Police and the RCMP with assistance from the Surete
du Quebec and the Escouade Regionale Mixte de l'Outaouais. "Organized
crime knows no bounds and this investigation succeeded with
partnerships between all eight agencies," said Miller. He said that
the drug trade is an issue in all communities in Ontario large or small.

"We're hoping it puts a dent in them [Hells Angels] for a period of
time." Miller said the investigation was a large one for this part of
the province and that Project Dante has no direct connection to biker
arrests in Peterborough earlier this month. Commenting on the
Belleville Police Services role in the investigation, Miller said,
"Belleville Police played a significant role in the day-to-day
investigation of drugs being distributed in the Belleville area."

Inspector Merle Foster of Belleville Police Services said the
department dedicated one full-time undercover officer to the
operation. Foster was limited in what he could say to the media as the
investigation is ongoing.

"It's reasonable to say that all activity related to this cell will
slow down," said Foster.

"Will this stop it? Of course not; it's been going on since I started
working drugs in 1974 and has certainly blossomed since then." He
added that the police can't give up and will continue working as a
joint team and that the arrests in relation to the investigation will
definitely have an effect on the local drug trade.