OFF THE WIRE
The Hell’s Angels Haney chapter celebrated its 25th anniversary on the weekend under the watchful eye of Mounties.
The celebrations took place at the Hell’s Angels club house on McKechnie Road in rural Pitt Meadows and drew members from HA chapters across the province and their puppet-clubs.
Ridge Meadows RCMP drew on the expertise of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) during the event. Around 30 additional police officers were brought in over two days.
“The planning was appropriate. We were not surprised by the number of people that attended,” said Insp. Dave Fluegel.
“The neighbourhood was well-informed about the potential for some noise and other concerns.”
Fluegel said there were no problems stemming from the celebrations.
“Our officers know the members of the club very well and the members of the visiting clubs. They are experts in motorcycle gxxg investigations,” said Sgt. Bill Whalen, with the combined forces unit.
“They provided assistance to the Ridge Meadows detachment. As well, they can be a bit of a calming factor because they fairly regularly interact with these guys and can assist regular members on how to deal with these guys in the most effective manner.”
The Hells Angels have eight chapters in B.C. and 34 across Canada.
The Ontario Superior Court declared the club a “national criminal organization” in 2009, with an estimated 460 full members in Canada.
B.C. Hells Angels:
• Vancouver (Established July 1983)
• White Rock (Established July 1983)
• Nanaimo (Established July 1983)
• The East End (Established December 1983)
• Haney (Established June 1987)
• Nomads (Established July 1998)
• Mission City (Established September 1999)
• Kelowna (Established June 2007)
Each Chapter operates out of a given city or region and is responsible for any activities taken up by its members.
The Hells Angels have a strict and oftentimes hierarchical structure. While each Chapter's make up may differ slightly, generally speaking, at the top of the Chapter is the president, followed by the vice-president, with the secretary, treasurer and Sergeant-At-Arms. The latter three positions are generally followed by the road captain, club members, prospects and hangarounds.
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