OFF THE WIRE
newsinenglish.no
They weren’t exactly angelic, but even Oslo police said they were pleased after hundreds of members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club ended a major gathering and some anniversary parties over the weekend.
Police were out in full force in Oslo’s Alnabru and Helsfyr districts, after around 500 bikers rode into town from all over Europe. They had a meeting at the Helsfyr Hotel on Friday, followed by anniversary celebrations on Saturday that among other things marked the club’s first 15 years in Norway.
“Seen from our point of view, this went very well,” Knut Lutro of the Oslo Police District told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). Three Hell’s Angels members were denied entry to Norway and two were arrested for use and possession of narcotics but there were no other major incidents.
Many Hell’s Angels members could even be spotted around downtown Oslo on Friday, strolling around like other tourists but standing out in the crowd because of the heavily decorated leather vests.
The Oslo club’s headquarters at Alnabru was surrounded by police, who registered the identification of all participants at the party. They also carried out some drug tests but decided against banning alcohol even though the club hadn’t applied for a serving permit that police claimed was required. The alternative was to unleash hundreds of Hell’s Angels members in poor humour on local bars, and police clearly didn’t think that was a good idea.
