Seized clubhouse 'PR'

Off the Wire
MCs in the News
By CHRIS KITCHING, Winnipeg Sun
Taking away the clubhouse of the Hells Angels’ Manitoba chapter — at least temporarily — isn’t going to eliminate the outlaw motorcycle gang’s presence, a street source says.

Hells Angels members won’t have an official hangout if they lose the clubhouse but it won’t put an end to the chapter, the source said.

“It’s good PR for the police but the band will still march on even without a place to chill,” the source said.

A Hells Angels clubhouse in Oshawa, Ont., was seized by that province’s government and demolished in March. Similar seizures have occurred in other Canadian cities.

The Manitoba government’s move to take control of the biker club’s lair is the latest chapter in the back-and-forth saga between organized crime and law enforcement in Manitoba.

Lately, law enforcement seems to be coming out on top against Hells Angels members and associates.

Police have had tremendous success in finding trusted people to flip and become paid informants to infiltrate the Hells Angels or Zig Zag Crew, its so-called street crew.

Many Hells Angels members and associates are serving lengthy prison sentences or are in custody awaiting the resolution of charges.

The number of Manitoba Hells Angels members on the street is unclear.

Three long-term undercover projects — Defence, Drill and Divide — by the Manitoba integrated organized crime task force resulted in charges against more than 60 people between 2006 and 2010. The clubhouse was raided each time.

Manitoba Justice officials and Winnipeg Police Service officers moved in and temporarily seized the clubhouse at 2679 Scotia St. on Thursday under the provincial Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, a civil law that allows property used in unlawful acts to be seized by the government.

In court documents the government alleges the clubhouse was being used “as a place to plan and carry out criminal activity.”

The province has started legal proceedings to take over the secluded property. The property’s legal owner, Leonard Beauchemin, has 40 days to file a statement of defence.

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