RECORD $1.3-M COCAINE BUST HURTS HELLS ANGELS, POLICE SAY

WINNIPEG police believe they have dealt a punishing blow to the Hells
Angels after pulling off Winnipeg's biggest-ever cocaine seizure -- 10
kilos with an estimated street value of $1.3 million.

Members of the Winnipeg Police Service's drug squad -- they call themselves
the Rogue Crew -- seized the drugs Friday afternoon after they stopped a
1991 GMC 4x4 truck with two men inside -- one of them a Springfield-area
resident described as a known Hells Angels associate.

The seizure stunned police, who in 2000 only took 1.7 kilos of powder
cocaine off city streets. With Friday's seizure, police have confiscated
12.9 kilos of cocaine in 2001.

Privately, officers said they hope they've done serious damage to the 12
members of Winnipeg's Hells Angels as they prepare to celebrate their first
anniversary as full-fledged members of the world's most notorious outlaw
motorcycle gang.

They say not only has the bikers' credibility in Canada's criminal
underground been damaged, but they're also now out $500,000 -- the
wholesale value of Friday's seizure.

"To replace what they've lost, they're going to have to come up with
another $500,000. That's serious money," one officer said.

But police are under no illusions they've dealt a death blow to the Hells
Angels, the people they say are pulling the strings of the local drug trade.

"They'll get it again," said Const. Dave Lysyk. "They'll be back in
business again. That's their livelihood."

After stopping the men next to Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, officers
seized the white pickup truck. No weapons were found. The truck was taken
to the police garage and stripped. Inside the spare tire, officers found 10
packages of high-grade cocaine.

"It's as pure as if it came right off the boat," Sgt. Ken Shipley said.

Lysyk said the cocaine would be sold either by the kilo or the ounce to
mid-level drug dealers in Winnipeg and then "stepped on" -- cut with
different agents so that its purity is reduced, but its resale value would
more than double.

These lower-level dealers could also "cook up" the cocaine and turn it into
crack, a highly potent smokable form of the drug.

"These people don't care what happens to it, they just want to make money,"
Lysyk said. "Crack is huge in this city right now."

Police delayed releasing news about the bust because it took longer than
anticipated to find the drugs -- a police drug sniffer dog did not hit upon
the cocaine and police had to start stripping down the truck to find it.

As well, officers also wanted the Hells Angels to "sweat it out" for a
while, thinking more arrests were possible.

The drug bust comes on top of recent charges against motorcycle gang
members, some originating from a series of shootings last year in which one
Hells Angels biker was shot several times. Currently, seven of the 12 Hells
Angels are under charge, with one of them facing deportation in the new year.

Typically, a Hells Angels organization is set up to isolate full members
from criminal activity. Prospects, associates, friends and puppet clubs end
up doing the dirty work, running the risk of being caught by police in
order to reap the reward of making a lot of money. Street-level dealers are
often caught with thousands of dollars in their pockets.

Police won't say where the truck or its illegal cargo originated, but it's
well known the Winnipeg chapter of the Hells Angels falls under the
umbrella of the Vancouver chapter.

Charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking are
Kelvin Brent Asham, 37, a Springfield-area stable owner and Barry Vaughan
Hancock, 47, a Dugald equine dentist.

They are to appear in court today.