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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Canada, Bikers gathering in city

OFF THE WIRE
BY: SARAH DEETH
Source: thepeterboroughexaminer.com

A Lansdowne St. W. home may be serving as a clubhouse for the Outlaw motorcycle gang, and police are warning that it's a sign that organized crime is playing a big role in the city's burgeoning drug trade.

City police, Peterborough County OPP officers and members of the Biker Gang Enforcement Unit maintained a heavy presence outside the home for most of Saturday.


OPP Det. Sgt. Len Isnor said the Outlaws seem to be setting up in an area typically associated with the Hells Angels.

"Local drug dealers could now have members affliated with one of the largest criminal organizations in the world," Isnor said.

Police officers weren't going into the house, or conducting any raids.

Isnor said police couldn't confirm with absolute certainty that the building is an Outlaws clubhouse. "But it does appear to be that way," he said.

The property, located at 1999 Lansdowne St. W., consists of a small yard and what appears to be a two-storey house. All the windows were boarded up.

It's near Peterborough Chrysler Jeep Dodge on the south side of Lansdowne.

Three men, including known Outlaw biker associate Rory Vader, were at the clubhouse Saturday afternoon.

When approached by The Examiner, one man issued a terse "no comment," and told The Examiner to stay off the property.

Some of them covered their faces, or turned their back to the camera when The Examiner took photographs.

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Members of the Outlaws motorcycle gang were spotted in the city in July, during a meeting with former Bandidos member and convicted drug trafficker Bob Pammett.

Police believe the bikers were holding a gathering at the property Saturday night.

Isnor said police had information that area members of the Loners motorcycle gang were "patching over," becoming members of the Outlaws.

The Loners are an Ontariobased biker gang that formed in the 1970s.

It's possible that Saturday's gathering was a celebration of the increase in Outlaws membership.

Isnor said police would be checking the identification of everyone travelling on and off the property, as well as taking their photographs.

"We want to know who they are, and who they're associating with in the community," Isnor said.

Isnor believes the bikers moved into the house as early as Nov. 1.

The Peterborough area has traditionally been associated with the Satan's Choice.

In the mid-1990s, Isnor said, Satan's Choice folded into the Hells Angels. But the Angels have been weakened in recent years, Isnor said, due mainly to police arrests and lengthy prison sentences for members.

The Outlaws, on the other hand, are making a comeback.

Isnor explained that many Outlaws members, about 45 people, received lengthy prison sentences following a police investigation called Project Retire in 2002.

They're now getting out of jail.

"Now they're rebuilding again," Isnor said. "Right smack in the middle of Hells Angels territory."

NOTE: Saturday's event marks the second time in a little over a week that the criminal element has shown a strong presence in the city. On Oct. 29 police seized 11 ounces of cocaine, marijuana, two handguns and a submachine gun from a group of Toronto men.

sdeeth@peterboroughexaminer.com