Thursday, May 17, 2012
CANADA - Motorcycle gang's clubhouse raided in drug sting
OFF THE WIRE
A motorcycle club's den was one of several places raided by Toronto police officers during a drug sting early Tuesday morning.
Officers shut down a stretch of Gerrard Street, just east of Woodbine Avenue, as heavily-armed members of Toronto Police Service's emergency task force used breaching explosives to enter a clubhouse belonging to the Vagabonds at about 6 a.m.
After the explosive device disabled the front door, two people inside the building opened a second door to allow police to enter.
Both occupants were taken into custody without incident.
The clubhouse was last raided by police in 1991, a club member told CP24's Cam Woolley.
Police spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond said the raid was one of eight search warrants executed in Toronto on Tuesday.
In addition to the ETF, members of biker enforcement, guns and gang, drug and organized crime units were involved in the raids, resulting in a number of arrests and charges, Drummond told CP24.
While it may not appear to be much on the outside, the Vagabonds' clubhouse was described by police as a fortified building.
The non-descript one-storey building has no windows, but has several surveillance cameras mounted on the outside.
Officers at the scene compared the building's back door to that of a bank vault.
The Vagabonds motorcycle club has existed for about 50 years, while the club has owned the Gerrard Street building for about 30 years.
