Canada - Cops keep eye on new Halifax street gang

OFF THE WIRE
A new gang has emerged in Halifax’s ever-evolving and murky criminal landscape.
The Hali Soldiers Society has about 10 members and ties to the Hells Angels, said RCMP Const. Stephen MacQueen, who investigates outlaw biker gangs for the provincial intelligence-gathering unit.
The Hali Soldiers aren’t bikers, though.
"I consider the Hali Soldiers Society a street gang," MacQueen said in a recent interview. "This group consists of a number of members that are well-known as drug dealers. We know that some of their members have been involved in violent incidents recently."
The group formed this year, he said.
A Facebook group called the Hali SoldierS had 10 members Sunday and the group’s page shows a skull-and-crossbones logo with the numbers 902 on the skull’s forehead. The Facebook group was started a few weeks ago.
"Their founder is well-known to us because of his links to outlaw motorcycle gangs in the past, including the Hells Angels," said MacQueen, who wouldn’t provide the individual’s name.
MacQueen said the Hali Soldiers are affiliated with Hells Angels members in Ontario, but he could not be more specific.
The Hali Soldiers sell clothing with their logos and also claim to fundraise for charities, something MacQueen said is a common tactic to seek legitimacy.
He said he has seen some recent changes involving two other local gangs that have Hells Angels ties. MacQueen said he doesn’t know how the Hali Soldiers will fit in with the other groups.
"Because this . . group is so new, we’re not sure how that’s going to play out yet. Any time there (are) drugs, violence quickly follows after it."
The New Brunswick biker club Bacchus, which has a Hants County chapter, is expanding and becoming more independent of the Hells Angels, he said. Meanwhile, the Darksiders, a Dartmouth motorcycle club, are strengthening their ties to the Hells Angels and are sponsored by the outlaw biker club’s chapter in Keswick, Ont.
MacQueen said police determined the gang connections through investigative methods, but officers were also able to see these changing relationships at the Hells Angels Canada run held in Windsor, Ont., on July 15 and 16.
That weekend, the Bacchus riders drove in on their own, while the Darksiders rode in with members of their sponsoring chapter.
The Bacchus club started in New Brunswick in 1972 and has had a long, cordial relationship with the Hells Angels.
"They still remain friends with them," MacQueen said. "They still party with them and socialize, but they are making attempts to get out from under the thumb of the Hells Angels."
The 2007 arrest of a Bacchus leader in New Brunswick, which occurred because a Hells Angels member worked with police, prompted the Bacchus club to seek more independence, he said.
Bacchus now has five chapters in three provinces. Their newest chapter opened in Corner Brook, N.L., in January.
Bacchus has to expand and recruit members to maintain its independence, MacQueen said.
When Bacchus was a puppet club, it meant the group had to do the larger club’s bidding, he said.
"If you don’t have to be under somebody’s thumb, then why would you want to be."
Any affiliation with the Hells Angels brings a lot of scrutiny from police, as well as attention from other gangs, which Bacchus members may not want, he said.
The Darksiders, based in a former Hells Angels clubhouse on Portland Street in Dartmouth, appear to be doing the larger group’s bidding, MacQueen said.
He said the Darksiders are a criminal organization, with drug dealing being their main activity. But MacQueen said members intend to open a retail store to sell the Hells Angels’ Route 81 clothing line, as well as some Darksiders clothing. Money from those sales often goes to a Hells Angels defence fund that can be used to pay legal fees should the need arise.
The name Route 81 reportedly represents the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and the first letter, A.
As their sponsor, the Keswick chapter oversees the Darksiders activities and sanctions a lot of their actions.
MacQueen said police intend to monitor the Darksiders and Hali Soldiers and will try to disrupt their activities and dismantle them.
"It’s a wait-and-see (approach) to see how these two groups will co-exist."
A Facebook request to interview a Hali Soldier for this story was not answered.
( darsenault©herald.ca)

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