OFF THE WIRE
Posted By SARAH DEETH , EXAMINER POLICE WRITER
Posted 1 day ago
The Outlaw Biker Gang has a long history of criminal activity that includes violence and drug trafficking.
This past weekend, nine of their members were spotted in the city.
Det.-Sgt. Len Isnor, who has worked for 15 years in the OPP's biker gang enforcement and organized crime bureau, knows the history of the Outlaw Biker Gang.
"They're involved in anything that would make them money," Isnor said.
The Outlaws came to Canada from the U.S. in 1977, he said, and began taking over Satan's Choice clubs. At the time, there was a Satan's Choice chapter in Peterborough, he said.
About half of those members became members of the Outlaw gang, he said. The other half remained part of Satan's Choice.
As the Outlaws grew they eventually conflicted with the Hells Angels, climaxing in a war in Quebec in the 1990s.
The Outlaws lost and were pushed out of Quebec and back to Ontario, Isnor said, where they've been running about half a dozen chapters ever since.
The club was further decimated in 2002, he said, due to a police operation dubbed Project Retire.
That culminated in either jail or prison sentences for about 45 club members.
Now those members are getting out of jail and the club is beginning to recruit again, Isnor said.
The Peterborough area has traditionally been associated with Satan's Choice, he said, which merged with the Hells Angels in 2000.
Should an Outlaw chapter open in the area, Isnor said, it could potentially lead to a turf conflict, given the history of the two clubs.
There hasn't been any confirmation that a chapter is opening in Peterborough, he said.
The Bandidos, now defunct in Ontario, managed to co-exist with the Outlaws, Isnor said, at one point managing to build up an alliance of sorts.
Isnor said the Outlaw club is relatively small, with about 50 to 60 members in Ontario, compared to the 170 Hells Angels members.
sdeeth@peterboroughexaminer.com
