DRUG TRADE FIGHT BEHIND VIOLENCE

Gangs grow: report

Competition for control over Manitoba's illegal drug trade is fuelling a
rise in gang violence, says a federal report released yesterday.

And the Winnipeg-based chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is
allegedly behind much of the violence.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

"In Manitoba, gang-related violence is increasing as criminal groups fight
over the province's drug trade. The Hells Angels are attempting to increase
their sphere of influence in this province through the use of violence and
intimidation of local drug traffickers," according to the 2003 report of the
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada.

The report also says that Asian-based organized crime groups, which are
"involved in the large-scale cultivation and trafficking of residentially
grown marijuana," are increasingly active in Manitoba.

That's been evident by the recent rise in marijuana grow operations being
set up in upscale Winnipeg homes -- several of which have been linked to
Asian suspects from B.C.

"It seems to be moving from the west to the east," RCMP Sgt. Rod Noseworthy
said of grow ops. "There's a lot of big money involved."

Manitoba also isn't immune to historical or Italian-based crime groups.

While the Mafia is heavily involved in the large urban areas of Ontario and
Quebec, there are also low-profile Italian-based groups in Manitoba that are
involved mostly in drug trafficking, the report says.