OFF THE WIRE
Niagara's police chief has a message for motorcycle gangs.
“The
message needs to be heard very clearly,” Police Chief Jeff McGuire said
at media conference Thursday after the NRP, with assistance of about 220
officers from across Ontario, executed 30 search and arrests warrants
in and around Niagara in a pre-dawn biker raid Wednesday morning.
“Outlaw motorcycle gangs and criminal organizations are not welcome
here. They never will be. They never have been.
“This was a project
about community safety. It was a project to make sure criminal
organizations don't disrupt our neighbourhoods.”
Thirty-one Niagara
residents were arrested for various alleged criminal offences as part of
Project Resurgence, which police believe stopped the Outlaws motorcycle
gang from re-establishing itself in Niagara. Wednesday's raid included
seven tactical entries.
“Unfortunately Niagara is a lucrative
market for the drug trade,” NRP Staff Sgt. Shawn Clarkson said. “The
usage of cocaine and heroin is high. These guys tried to establish
themselves and take over this area as far as the drug trade. The border
points of entry are also of interest to them as well as the prostitution
that goes on in this area.”
Project Resurgence began in early
2013 when the NRP started investigating the activity of the Outlaws and
Black Pistons motorcycle gangs in Niagara.
Police said the
investigation uncovered evidence of narcotics trafficking — including
heroin, cocaine and marijuana — along with weapons trafficking, break
and enter, assault, extortion and participation in a criminal
organization.
About 150 charges were laid as a result of the
investigation. Police said they seized about $70,000 worth of cash and
several weapons including a Mac-10 semiautomatic 45-caliber firearm and
an AK47-type assault weapon. The semiautomatic Mac-10 had a silencer and
over-capacity magazines, which are prohibited in Canada, police said.
The
main targets of Wednesday's raid were the Black Pistons motorcycle gang
and the Outlaws motorcycle gang. The Black Pistons had established a
clubhouse at 80 Page Street in St. Catharines, police said. The
clubhouse was one of the properties raided Wednesday.
Nine of the 11 Black Pistons members were set to become full-patch Outlaws by the end of November.
“The
Black Pistons are a lower-level support club.,” Clarkson said. “The
Outlaws call the shots. The Outlaws are a more powerful entity. The
Black Pistons are there for support. They are trying to prove themselves
worthy of becoming full-patch Outlaws. They are dangerous. They are
looking to prove their loyalty and their willingness to deal narcotics
on behalf of the club and be a financial and physical benefit to the big
club.”
http://www.niagaraadvance.ca/2013/11/07/watch-live-project-resurgence-news-conference
