Deadman walking

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Insider key to Hells Angels raids: police

1 hour, 37 minutes ago

OTTAWA (CBC) - A full-patch Hells Angels member helped police infiltrate the downtown Toronto chapter and led to the seizure of their "flagship" clubhouse in a series of raids Wednesday, police said.

"This is the second time the Hells Angels' criminal activity has been exposed by one of their own," OPP Det. Insp. Dan Redmond said at a news conference held Thursday in Mississauga, Ont.

Under the dark of early morning, nearly 40 locations were raided by police across Ontario, as well as one location each in New Brunswick and British Columbia.

Co-ordinating the dozens of raids across three time zones was a "mammoth task," said Redmond, with 400 officers involved.

Of the raids, the most significant is considered the downtown Toronto clubhouse, which police seized and stripped of its signs Wednesday.

Redmond called it the "flagship" of the Hells Angels in Ontario, if not the country.

Nearly 170 charges were laid against 31 people, police said. No list of charges and names was released. Sixteen full-patch members are in custody, with arrest warrants outstanding on two.

Redmond refused to specify whether any senior members had been arrested, saying only that they were "affected" and no longer have their "home" - the clubhouse.

Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino called it a "good day" for police and warned biker gang members and their associates: "You can run but you can't hide and we will do all we can to bring you to justice."

Seized were vehicles, drugs, weapons, property and real-estate, though amounts were not specified.

Representatives from all police levels spoke at the news conference, including RCMP, OPP and the Toronto police.

Ontario has 16 Angels chapters, though not all are active, and about 200 full-patch members, police said.