When Independent Soldiers founder Randy Naicker stopped outside a Starbucks on a warm June afternoon six years ago, he had no idea that a rival gang had fixed a tracking device to his SUV.

Despite escaping earlier attempts on his life, Naicker ended up being an easy mark that day.

Two masked gunmen blasted him at the busy Port Moody intersection of St. Johns and Queens, before running off and hopping into a getaway vehicle. A black handgun was left near the scene.

Shocked onlookers saw Naicker collapse, fatally wounded, on the concrete beside a grey Infiniti SUV, driver’s door open, a window broken. It was June 25, 4:45 p.m.

Friends and family insist that Naicker, a convicted kidnapper and long-time gangster, had left his criminal past behind.

But to the rival gang that hunted him, it made no difference.

Larry Amero of the Hells Angels (left) with the late Randy Naicker, who founded the Independent Soldiers. Naicker was shot to death in 2012 in Port Moody. (Photo: PNG files)

Just another target

He was just another target in a bloody feud that exploded after popular gangster Gurmit Dhak was gunned down outside Burnaby’s Metrotown mall in October 2010.

Dhak’s execution was the flashpoint for a near decade-long war that has raged across the province and left many dead and wounded in its wake. Few of those behind the violence have been held to account.

But earlier this month, three former Dhak associates — Jason McBride, Michael Jones and Jujhar Khun-Khun — pleaded guilty to participating in the fatal Kelowna attack that left Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon dead in August 2011.

They admitted they plotted to kill Bacon, Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach — who had formed the Wolf Pack alliance — on the orders of Dhak’s younger brother Sukh in retaliation for the 2010 Burnaby murder.

Jones, 31, has also been identified as a suspect in the plot to kill Naicker during the sentencing of another man, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in August 2016.

‘The tit-for-tat violence was ongoing,’ says Vancouver police Supt. Mike Porteous. ‘Frankly, even today we are still dealing with a derivative of that ongoing conflict between those groups.’ (Photo: Jason Payne, PNG files)

The agreed statement of facts in the other case said that Jones accessed Naicker’s parkade before the shooting, fixed the tracking device to his vehicle and then waited for an opportunity to kill him.

So far, Jones has not been charged in connection with Naicker’s murder.

But he has admitted that he drove Bacon’s killers to Kelowna’s Delta Grand Hotel on Aug. 14, 2011, where McBride and the late Manny Hairan jumped out and began firing at a Porsche containing Bacon and his associates.

The bloodshed didn’t stop in Kelowna. Dozens of tit-for-tat murders and shootings followed.

Gurmit Dhak, killed Oct. 16, 2010

Anti-gang police worked hard to stem the violence. After Bacon’s murder, they called a news conference to warn the public about the brewing tensions, explaining that the Dhak group was aligned with Sandip Duhre and his associates. The Dhak-Duhre side also had links to the already notorious UN gang, they said.

“I think the real flashpoint we saw was Gurmit Dhak getting killed — that was a big one,” Vancouver Police Supt. Mike Porteous said in a recent interview.

“The tit-for-tat violence was ongoing. Frankly — and I have said this publicly before — even today we are still dealing with a derivative of that ongoing conflict between those groups.”

A month after the Kelowna attack, Khun-Khun, who has now admitted he hunted Bacon, Amero and Riach on 30 to 40 occasions, was critically wounded in a Surrey shooting outside a house that Sukh Dhak was visiting.

Kelowna payback

In October, Dhak associate Stephen Leone, who had been part of the Kelowna hunt, was shot to death in Surrey. Hairan, one of Bacon’s killers, was wounded.

Things escalated further when Duhre was shot to death in the lobby of Vancouver’s Sheraton Wall Centre on Jan. 17, 2012. Shocked players from the U.S. and Cuban women’s soccer teams, in town for an Olympic qualifying tournament, were nearby at the time.

The payback for Kelowna was continuing.

Porteous said a “litany” of shootings and murders that spanned months were “all related and they are all intertwined more or less from that particular conflict — that Wolf Pack alliance against the Dhak-Duhre-UN alliance.”

The conflict “accelerated when some of the leaders began to get taken out,” he said.

Armed hitmen were roaming the streets of Metro Vancouver looking for more targets. Police were watching them, later executing search warrants at apartments in Vancouver and Surrey and seizing caches of firearms. Two men connected to the Wolf Pack were later convicted of possessing the guns.

The trail of violence led all the way to Mexico when Tom Gisby, a major organized crime figure in B.C. for decades, was shot to death near Puerto Vallarta. Gisby had worked closely with Gurmit Dhak for years.

Sukh Dhak, younger brother of Gurmit Dhak, outside his B.C. Supreme Court drug trial in October 2012. The younger Dhak ordered retaliation against those he held responsible for his brother’s murder. Sukh Dhak was murdered a month later, in November at Burnaby’s Executive Hotel. (Photo: PNG files)

Meanwhile Sukh Dhak, who police believed was calling the shots on his side of the conflict, was on trial at the Vancouver Law Courts, accused of conspiracy and drug trafficking.

His case was on a break on Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. Dhak and his burly bodyguard Thomas Mantel headed to Burnaby’s Executive Hotel on the Lougheed Highway. They arrived about 11:30 a.m. Their killer was there, too.

Both men were shot to death in front of shocked hotel workers.

Even with the man behind the Kelowna shooting dead, the Wolf Pack wasn’t satisfied.

On Jan. 15, 2013, two of the Dhak pals directly involved in the Bacon murder were targeted on a quiet laneway in Surrey. Khun-Khun was critically injured, but miraculously survived again. Bacon shooter Manny Hairan was killed.

Within weeks, police announced first-degree murder charges against Khun-Khun, McBride and Jones for the Bacon hit and the attempts on Amero, Riach and two women passengers. 

McBride, now 42, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder May 1. The close friend of Gurmit Dhak will not be eligible for parole for 13 years. Khun-Khun and Jones were handed 18-year terms for conspiracy and will have to serve five more before they can apply for parole.

On the day of Gurmit Dhak’s funeral, McBride was one of several associates who met up afterwards in Vancouver’s Kensington Park. Anti-gang police tailed them, fearing there would be retaliation. Two of the men there were arrested with loaded guns, charged and later convicted.

Jujhar Khun-Khun (left) with the late Sukh Dhak in an undated photo. Khun-Khun pleaded guilty earlier this month to taking part in the fatal attack on Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon outside a major Kelowna resort hotel in August 2011. Dhak was shot to death in November 2012 at a Burnaby hotel. (Photo: PNG files)

‘Bury my brother’

Retired Vancouver Police gang expert Doug Spencer was one of the officers monitoring the funeral that day.

He remembers talking to devastated younger brother Sukh, who was already being urged to retaliate.

“Sukh says all his friends, ‘All they want me to do is kill the guys who killed Gurmit. All I want to do is bury my brother,’” recalled Spencer, who now does anti-gang workshops in schools for the Odd Squad.

Spencer said Gurmit Dhak was a different breed of gangster than some of the younger, more violent guys involved today.

Thomas Mantel, a bodyguard for Sukh Dhak. Both were gunned down in Burnaby in November 2012. (Photo: PNG files)

“His attitude was make money, not war,” Spencer said. “He was old school. He was well-respected. He didn’t cross people. He just wanted to make money. He was an anomaly, really. None of them are like that now.”

The elder Dhak did business with all sides, including Hells Angels. Full-patch bikers wearing their death-head vests or “colours” attended his funeral.

Spencer said he first met the Dhak brothers when they were in elementary school in south Vancouver.

“They were normal kids. Nice kids. You would go up to talk to them and they were like, ‘Hi, officer.’ ”

Gurmit’s path changed when he was in high school. Lotus gang leader Raymond Chan approached him “right off the school grounds,” Spencer said.

“He basically pulled up in a red Porsche and said if you come and work for me, you can have one of these.”

Dhak bit. He was mentored by Chan, who himself was murdered in Richmond in May 2003.

‘I have got to worry’

Spencer said Dhak did stints in jail, where he made more criminal connections and enhanced his underworld reputation. The longest was a seven-year term for manslaughter after an associate in his vehicle shot and killed a 19-year-old outside a Vancouver nightclub in 1999.

“When Gurmit was in jail, he reached out to me and asked me to go talk to his little brother and get him away from the guys he was hanging out with,” Spencer said.

Years later, Spencer approached the elder Dhak about doing an anti-gang video for the Odd Squad to warn others about the perils of gang life. Dhak eventually agreed, making prophetic statements in the eerie video filmed months before his slaying.

“Every day I’ve got to look over my shoulder,” Dhak told Spencer. “I have got to worry — if I jump out of my car am I going to get shot? Or I could be walking in the mall and walking out and get shot. I don’t know.”

RCMP cruisers flood the area around the Kelowna’s Delta Grand Hotel on Aug. 14, 2011, where Red Scorpion gangster Jonathan Bacon was murdered in a very public hail of bullets. (Photo: Don Sipos, PNG files)

Almost eight years later, no one has been charged in Gurmit Dhak’s murder. Amero, the Hells Angel wounded in Kelowna, was arrested earlier this year and charged with conspiracy to kill Sukh Dhak and Sandip Duhre. Two Amero associates are charged with Duhre’s murder. All three remain in pre-trial custody.

Spencer thinks that Dhak would be devastated by all the blood shed in his name.

“I think he would say it wasn’t worth it. I think he would say now ‘what was I thinking?’ ” Spencer said. “He would be really upset about the fact that his brother went down. He tried to be a good big brother to him.”

Key events in the Dhak-Durhe-UN conflict with the Wolf Pack alliance

• Oct. 16, 2010: Popular underworld figure Gurmit Dhak is shot to death outside Burnaby’s Metrotown mall.

• Oct. 21, 2010: Two men linked to the Wolf Pack side, Arash (Monty) Younus and Philip Ley, shot at in their vehicle on Westminster Highway in Richmond.

• Oct. 27, 2010: After Dhak’s funeral, police covertly follow some mourners to Vancouver’s Kensington Park. Two of them — Christopher Iser and Mike Shirazi — are caught with loaded firearms and are arrested. Police said the group was plotted to kill Phil Ley.

• Dec. 12, 2010: Dhak associates shoot up a birthday party at Best Neighbours restaurant on Oak Street in Vancouver. Ten people are wounded, including Wolf Pack member Damion Ryan.

• Aug. 14, 2011: Gunmen linked to the Dhak group carry out a brazen shooting outside Kelowna’s Delta Grand Hotel that results in the murder of Jonathan Bacon and injuries to Larry Amero and two women in their vehicle. Gangster James Riach escapes injury. Bacon, Amero and Riach had joined forces in the Wolf Pack gang alliance.

• Sept. 7, 2011: Police issue a public warning that Wolf Pack associates are looking for revenge against Dhak-Duhre-UN opponents for the Kelowna shooting.

• Sept. 16, 2011: Dhak associate Jujhar Khun-Khun is shot outside a Surrey house that Sukh Dhak was visiting. He survives.

• Oct. 2, 2011: Dhak associate Billy Woo found dead on logging road near Squamish.

• Oct. 22, 2011: Dhak associate Stephen Leone, who was in Kelowna helping in the Bacon hunt two months earlier, is shot to death in Surrey.

• Jan. 16, 2012: Longtime Dhak associate and major underworld criminal Tom Gisby is targeted with an explosive device near Whistler. But the device fails to detonate.

• Jan. 17, 2012: Sandip (Dip) Duhre is executed in the lobby of Vancouver’s Sheraton Wall Centre.

• Jan. 19, 2012: Dhak associate Sean Beaver is shot to death in Surrey, second man wounded.

Police cordon off the scene at Burnaby’s Metrotown mall on the night of Oct. 16, 2010, where Gurmit Dhak was murdered, igniting a gang war with seemingly no end. Nearly eight years later, no one has been charged. (Photo: Ric Ernst, PNG files)

• April 28, 2012: B.C. gangster Gisby, 47, is shot to death while vacationing in Mexico.

• May 30, 2012: Duhre associate Gurbinder Singh (Bin) Toor, 35, is shot to death outside a Port Moody community centre.

• June 25, 2012: Independent Soldiers founder Randy Naicker gunned down in Port Moody.

• June 27, 2012: Wolf Pack-linked Phil Ley and Dean Wiwchar are charged with firearms offences after police investigating the Duhre murder search apartments linked to them.

• Nov. 26, 2012: Sukh Dhak and his bodyguard Thomas Mantel are shot and killed at the Executive Hotel in Burnaby.

• Jan. 13, 2013: Dhak associate Manjot Dhillon is shot to death in Surrey after posting anti-Wolf Pack images on his Facebook page.

• Jan. 15, 2013: Dhak associates Jujhar Khun-Khun and Manny Hairan are targeted in a Surrey shooting. Khun-Khun is critically wounded. Hairan, identified as one of the Kelowna shooters, dies.

• Feb. 25, 2013: Dhak associates Jujhar Khun-Khun, Jason McBride and Michael Jones are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with the Kelowna shooting and Jonathan Bacon murder.

• March 18, 2013: Wolf Pack associate Rabih Alkhalil is charged with the murder of Sandip Duhre.

• Jan. 2, 2014: Red Scorpion Matthew Campbell is stabbed to death in Abbotsford after a run-in with rivals. An associate of Jujhar Khun-Khun is charged, but the charge is later stayed.

• Jan 2, 2015: Dhak associate Arundeep Cheema, 23, is shot to death in a vehicle outside the home of an associate.

• June 7, 2016: Wolf Pack gangster Sukh Deo, whose name surfaced in connection with the 2012 murder of Duhre pal Bin Toor, is shot to death in Toronto in a targeted hit.

• July 31, 2016: Former Dhak associate Sean Kelly, 27, is shot to death in Surrey.

• May 29, 2017: Kelowna murder trial of Jujhar Khun-Khun, Jason McBride and Michael Jones begins before Justice Allan Betton and goes on until October, when the proceedings adjourn to deal with a disclosure issue.

• Jan. 25, 2018: Hells Angel Larry Amero, wounded in the 2011 Kelowna shooting, is charged with conspiracy to kill gangster Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak in 2012. His Wolf Pack associate Dean Wiwchar is charged with murdering Duhre and plotting to kill Dhak.

• May 1, 2018: Dhak associates Jujhar Khun-Khun and Michael Jones plead guilty to conspiracy to kill Amero, Bacon and Riach in Kelowna in August 2011. Jason McBride pleads guilty to second-degree murder.

Related

• Three gangsters in Bacon murder plot slapped with stiff prison sentences
• Guilty pleas in 2011 gangland shooting that shook Kelowna
• Former gangster says Dhak contracted UN to kill enemies

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Blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

Twitter.com/kbolan

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A Hamilton man has pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a B.C. Hells Angel at the Vancouver airport.

Knowah Ferguson, 21, also pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to commit the murder of an unknown person in June 2015.

The guilty pleas came after a judge dismissed an application by Ferguson’s lawyers to exclude evidence due to police breaching the accused’s rights. Ferguson’s trial was to have started May 28 in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

Court heard that police suspected two people in Hamilton were hiring youth to commit shootings and that the accused, who was a teen at the time, was one of the youths being hired.

Ferguson was accused of approaching Hells Angel Damion Ryan in April 2015 while Ryan was seated at a table with another male in a food court at the airport and pulling out a firearm.

There was a clicking sound and the gun failed to fire after which the three people at the scene, including Ferguson, took off running.

The murder conspiracy related to Ferguson conspiring with an associate who can only be identified as Witness X due to a publication ban, as well as others, to kill the unknown person.

Ferguson was taken into custody along with two other young men when a suspected stolen vehicle they were in was pulled over by Vancouver police near Main Street and East 10th Avenue on June 14, 2015. 

When police searched the vehicle, they found firearms and ammunition, including three handguns, an AK-47 assault rifle and a silencer.

As a result of evidence gathered during the investigation, police became convinced of Ferguson’s involvement in the attempted murder and murder conspiracy.

During the pre-trial proceedings, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten dealt with several allegations that police had violated Ferguson’s rights.

While there was a lawful warrant to search various mobile devices, the accused’s lawyers established that the manner in which certain BlackBerry cellphones containing encrypted messages were searched had breached the accused’s rights.

Related

• Man accused of attempted murder had rights violated by Vancouver police: Judge
• B.C. Hells Angel was targeted by Ontario hitman, indictment says

The defence sought to have the evidence excluded, arguing that to admit the phone messages would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

The judge found that the Charter breaches were serious and that the police were careless in the execution of the search warrant.

But she also found that there was no bad faith conduct on the part of police.

“They did not conduct themselves with intentionality that amounts to a flagrant disregard of Mr. Ferguson’s Charter-protected interests,” the judge said in reasons released May 9.

“Instead, in my view, what occurred here is more appropriately cast as errors in judgment.”

A date for sentencing of Ferguson will be set May 30, with a sentencing hearing expected in late August or early September.

Gino Gavin McCall, Ferguson’s co-accused and also from Hamilton, pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to commit murder in relation to the alleged plot in June 2015.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison, reduced to three years, three months and 18 days in jail after he received credit for pre-sentence custody.

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The Hells Angels arrived in B.C. on July 25, 1983, and celebrated the opening of its Hardside chapter, the 10th in the province, with a party on March 17, 2017. Provincial membership sits at around 120, but their power extends far beyond that, police say, through associates, prospective members and support clubs, including the Devils Army.

Story: Hells Angels lawyers argue undercover evidence inadmissible in civil case

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• Feds not doing enough to keep Hells Angels out of medical pot, B.C. minister says
• Hells Angels under pressure

Follow and share breaking news, business, sports, entertainment and developing news stories on Flipboard. Check out our magazine News As It Happens: http://flip.it/a3XMqr

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B.C.’s public safety minister says he has serious concerns about a new motorcycle club of Lower Mainland firefighters called Florian’s Knights that has been attending events with the Hells Angels.

“This is just disturbing on so many levels,” Mike Farnworth said after Postmedia obtained a photo of a founding member of the Knights posing with three Hells Angels.

Farnworth said firefighters face incredible danger on the job, made worse in recent years by “a rise in fires in homes where drug labs are located.”

“And many of those labs allegedly have links to the Hells Angels. So I find it more than a bit disturbing that you’ve got a motorcycle gang composed of firefighters associating with Hells Angels who may be making their job even more dangerous than it already is.”

Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, right, with members of the Hells Angels

Farnworth said he has asked his staff to look into the issue and report back to him.

The Knights are wearing a three-piece patch on the backs of their leather vests, meaning they sought permission from the Hells Angels when they were forming, retired police biker expert Brad Stephen told Postmedia.

Three-piece ‘patch’ of new firefighters biker club called Florian’s Knights.

Stephen, who was a firefighter before his long career with the Vancouver Police Department, said it’s disturbing that some firefighters want to associate with Hells Angels.

“What the Florian’s Knights have chosen to do is obviously seek permission and they’ve received permission from the Hells Angels to wear a three-piece patch and they go out of their way to associate, party, ride, commiserate with members of the Hells Angels and with members of support clubs of the Hells Angels,” Stephen said Monday. “In my opinion, that is a very disturbing thing.”

The Knights contact person, Nick Elmes, is a Burnaby firefighter, as are two others in the new club. There are also two New Westminster firefighters and a retired Vancouver firefighter.

Burnaby Fire Chief Joe Robertson said he also has concerns about the Knights and has met with the RCMP to discuss the issue.

“The city and the fire department do not condone any association of our members with the Hells Angels. We support the good work that all the rest of our firefighters do in the community,” Robertson said Monday. “This reflects really poorly on the good work that everybody else does.”

Some of the Knights have been wearing their vests, known as “colours” on their way to work, Robertson said.

“I conveyed my displeasure because they were riding to work in their biker colours and we have a legal opinion that says that they can actually do that,” he said.

“There are concerns. I share the same concerns that the police have.”

Elmes, who said he is a founding member of the Knights, said in an interview Monday that the club formed to raise money for charity and that no one should be concerned.

He admitted the Knights have been at events with Hells Angels but said those events were open to anyone to attend.

As for the photo of him with three Hells Angels, including Kelowna president Damiano Dipopolo, Elmes said he is a childhood friend of Dipopolo.

“I can’t help that they are at the same ride we are at,” Elmes said.

Elmes said the Knights advised the Hells Angels that they were starting their new club.

“I told them what I was planning on doing. I gave the whole motorcycle community a warning on what was going on before we started flying our colours,” Elmes said, adding that he asked the HA: “Do you have any issues with us doing this?”

Another social media comment obtained by Postmedia has a member of the HA-aligned Devil’s Army biker club in Campbell River thanking the Florian’s Knights for their recent hospitality.

Elmes said if the public has any concerns about his group “it is because the media and the cops are putting absolute lies in people’s heads.”

“I don’t think there should be a concern. Everyone is just riding, doing their thing. This isn’t Sons of Anarchy, where guys wearing their vests are committing crimes and murdering people,” he said of the TV show about a fictitious biker gang in California. “This is just guys on their bikes riding at charitable events.”

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B.C.’s anti-gang agency says a new Metro Vancouver firefighters biker club with links to the Hells Angels raises serious issues.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said Tuesday that the decision by some firefighters to form the Florian’s Knights and associate with the notorious biker gang puts themselves and other first responders at risk.

“The Hells Angels have a longtime involvement in both illegal marijuana grow operations and synthetic drug clandestine labs. This is troubling as well, given the dangers they pose to first responders, and firefighters in particular,” Winpenny said.

“The decision by a small group of firefighters to support a criminal organization involved in activities that endanger their brother and sister firefighters is concerning. By associating with the Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcycle gangs, they are potentially putting themselves and others at risk.”

Advanced Minister Melanie Mark with Florian’s Knights at May 10th MLA ride of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists. Knights founder Nick Elmes is to the left of Mark.

Winpenny said CFSEU officers have spoken to some in the Knights to express the concerns of law enforcement.

Postmedia revealed Tuesday that some local firefighters had formed Florian’s Knights and attended charity rides and other events with the Hells Angels.

Knights founder Nick Elmes also posed for a photo with three Hells Angels.

Burnaby firefighter NIck Elmes, right, with members of the Hells Angels

Elmes defended his organization, saying they formed to do charity work and can’t help it if the Hells Angels attend some of the same public events.

But he admitted that he advised the Angels when he was forming his club and let them know the Knights would be adopting a three-piece patch for their leather vest — something police say can only be done with HA permission.

Winpenny said the events are not open to the public, as Elmes claimed.

“This is inaccurate and both presence and participation at these events, whether it’s funerals, OMG-sanctioned rides, or other rides are often the result of an invitation and represent support for the Hells Angels,” she said. “Money raised at these events flows to the Hells Angels.”

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he has asked his staff to look into the issues raised by having public servants associating with a group the government considers a criminal organization.

Last month, Florian’s Knights attended a rally in Victoria as part of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists.

Elmes and others in his group were photographed with Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark outside the B.C. Legislature.

Mark said in a statement that she “certainly had no reason to think that there would be anyone in attendance who associates with a criminal organization.”

“Anyone who associates with gangs and organized crime is putting themselves and their friends and families at risk,” Mark said. “We’re following up with the organizers to raise concerns.”

The BCCOM has held the MLA ride for 26 years.

Meanwhile, Postmedia has learned that the Knights have recently opened a clubhouse in North Burnaby.

Elmes and another member bought the house in the 5400-block Parker Street in January for $1.65 million, B.C. property records show.

Elmes advertised on Facebook in March hat his biker club would be hosting an event on the last Thursday of every month at the house, though he said people had to direct message him to get the address.

Suit of armour inside the Florian’s Knights clubhouse posted on Facebook

Elmes owns a second residence in North Burnaby a few blocks away from the new clubhouse, assessed this year for $1.76 million.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for an interview about his group’s relationship with the Knights.

Hells Angels expert Brad Stephen, a retired Vancouver police officer and one-time firefighter, said in an interview that firefighters are held in high regard in the community and that the Knights are damaging that reputation.

“There is a high degree of public trust and public respect that is bestowed upon your position as a firefighter in the community. You are required to respond to rescues, respond to medical emergencies in the middle of the night. You go into people’s homes. You go into people’s businesses. You are often required to go into secure facilities and you are exposed to confidential scenarios and confidential information,” Stephen said. “You work hand in hand with police agencies …. all of sudden now there is a group of firefighters who have decided to form the Florian’s Knights and to ingratiate themselves with the Hells Angels.”

kbolan@postmedia.com

Related

• Founder of firefighters' biker club poses with Hells Angels

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Burnaby has started a formal investigation into a local firefighters motorcycle club linked to the Hells Angels, city manager Lambert Chu said Wednesday.

Chu said the investigation follows Postmedia revelations about the Florian’s Knights attending events with the notorious biker gang.

Postmedia also obtained a recent photo of one of the Knights’ founders, Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, posing with Kelowna Hells Angels president Damiano Dipopolo and two other full-patch HA members.

Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, right, poses with members of the Hells Angels.

Elmes said he and other firefighters founded the Knights to go on charitable rides and raise funds for various causes. He said there should be no reason for the public to be concerned about his club.

But he also admitted he advised the Hells Angels before starting the Knights because his group is using the same style three-piece patch on their leather vests that the HA wears and exercises proprietorial rights over.

Three-piece “patch” of new firefighters biker club called Florian’s Knights

Earlier this year, Elmes and another man purchased a house in the 5400-block Parker Street in North Burnaby for $1.65 million to serve as the Knight’s clubhouse.

Chu said he has “put together an investigation team to look into this matter.”

While the city had some details about the formation of the Knights several months ago, Postmedia’s stories provided additional information of concern, Chu said.“The information you had in your two stories that you wrote shed additional light on this matter,” Chu said. “It is of tremendous concern to the city and to the city organization. That’s why we are undertaking a full investigation.”

He said a city lawyer is on the newly formed committee.

Burnaby Fire Chief Joe Robertson said earlier this week that he had raised concerns about some of the Knights wearing their biker vests known as “colours” as they rode to work. He said he got a legal opinion indicating there was nothing he could do about it at the time.

Chu said that city workers have “freedom of choice to wear certain clothing to work, so we have to make sure that we get all the legal grounds covered.”

“The fire chief at that time took it upon himself and spoke with the individual and he said this organization is doing all the charitable activities and doing a ride and doing good for the communities,” Chu said. “So there was no evidence whatever to suggest that there was even a loose connection between the Flroians’ Knights with the Hells Angels.”

But biker experts with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit have been documenting the association between the Knights and the Hells Angels at various “rides” this spring.

CFSEU Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said those officers have “had direct conversations with members of the Florian’s Knights regarding their associations with the Hells Angels.”

Chu said the city’s investigation will involve interviewing people, obtaining information from the RCMP and doing “a little bit of fact-finding.”

They hope to conclude the investigation within a few days, he said.

Three of Florian’s Knights are Burnaby firefighters, two are with the New Westminster Fire Department and one is a retired Vancouver firefighter, Postmedia has learned.

kbolan@postmedia.com

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blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

Related

• Founder of firefighters' biker club poses with Hells Angels
• Anti-gang police concerned about Metro Vancouver firefighter bikers

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I have done a couple of follow-up stories on the Florian Knights, the firefighter bikers who’ve been going on rides with the Hells Angels.

Now the City of Burnaby has launched its own investigation into the municipal employees who are in the Knights.

Here’s my latest story and one I filed yesterday, but didn’t post:

Burnaby investigates firefighter biker club

Burnaby has started a formal investigation into a local firefighters motorcycle club linked to the Hells Angels, city manager Lambert Chu said Wednesday.

Chu said the investigation follows Postmedia revelations about the Florian’s Knights attending events with the notorious biker gang.

Postmedia also obtained a recent photo of one of the Knights’ founders, Burnaby firefighter Nick Elmes, posing with Kelowna Hells Angels president Damiano Dipopolo and two other full-patch HA members.

Burnaby firefighter NIck Elmes, right, with members of the Hells Angels

Elmes said he and other firefighters founded the Knights to go on charitable rides and raise funds for various causes. He said there should be no reason for the public to be concerned about his club.

But he also admitted he advised the Hells Angels before starting the Knights because his group is using the same style three-piece patch on their leather vests that the HA wears and exercises proprietorial rights over.

Earlier this year, Elmes and another man purchased a house in the 5400-block Parker Street in North Burnaby for $1.65 million to serve as the Knights’ clubhouse.

Chu said he has “put together an investigation team to look into this matter.”

Three-piece “patch” of new firefighters biker club called Florian’s Knights

While the city had some details about the formation of the Knights several months ago, Postmedia’s stories provided additional information of concern, Chu said.“The information you had in your two stories that you wrote shed additional light on this matter,” Chu said. “It is of tremendous concern to the city and to the city organization. That’s why we are undertaking a full investigation.”

He said a city lawyer is on the newly formed committee.

Burnaby Fire Chief Joe Robertson said earlier this week that he had raised concerns about some of the Knights wearing their biker vests known as “colours” as they rode to work. He said he got a legal opinion indicating there was nothing he could do about it at the time.

Chu said that city workers have “freedom of choice to wear certain clothing to work, so we have to make sure that we get all the legal grounds covered.”

“The fire chief at that time took it upon himself and spoke with the individual and he said this organization is doing all the charitable activities and doing a ride and doing good for the communities,” Chu said. “So there was no evidence whatever to suggest that there was even a loose connection between the Flroians’ Knights with the Hells Angels.”

But biker experts with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit have been documenting the association between the Knights and the Hells Angels at various “rides” this spring.

CFSEU Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said those officers have “had direct conversations with members of the Florian’s Knights regarding their associations with the Hells Angels.”

Chu said the city’s investigation will involve interviewing people, obtaining information from the RCMP and doing “a little bit of fact-finding.”

They hope to conclude the investigation within a few days, he said.

Three of Florian’s Knights are Burnaby firefighters, two are with the New Westminster Fire Department and one is a retired Vancouver firefighter, Postmedia has learned.

kbolan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/kbolan

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

 

Earlier story:

Anti-gang police concerned about firefighter

bikers

KIM BOLAN

Updated: June 5, 2018

B.C.’s anti-gang agency says a new Metro Vancouver firefighters biker club with links to the Hells Angels raises serious issues.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said Tuesday that the decision by some firefighters to form the Florian’s Knights and associate with the notorious biker gang puts themselves and other first responders at risk.

“The Hells Angels have a longtime involvement in both illegal marijuana grow operations and synthetic drug clandestine labs. This is troubling as well, given the dangers they pose to first responders, and firefighters in particular,” Winpenny said.

“The decision by a small group of firefighters to support a criminal organization involved in activities that endanger their brother and sister firefighters is concerning. By associating with the Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcycle gangs, they are potentially putting themselves and others at risk.”

Winpenny said CFSEU officers have spoken to some in the Knights to express the concerns of law enforcement.

Postmedia revealed Tuesday that some local firefighters had formed Florian’s Knights and attended charity rides and other events with the Hells Angels.

Knights founder Nick Elmes also posed for a photo with three Hells Angels.

Elmes defended his organization, saying they formed to do charity work and can’t help it if the Hells Angels attend some of the same public events.

But he admitted that he advised the Angels when he was forming his club and let them know the Knights would be adopting a three-piece patch for their leather vest — something police say can only be done with HA permission.

Winpenny said the events are not open to the public, as Elmes claimed.

“This is inaccurate and both presence and participation at these events, whether it’s funerals, OMG-sanctioned rides, or other rides are often the result of an invitation and represent support for the Hells Angels,” she said. “Money raised at these events flows to the Hells Angels.”

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he has asked his staff to look into the issues raised by having public servants associating with a group the government considers a criminal organization.

Last month, Florian’s Knights attended a rally in Victoria as part of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists.

Elmes and others in his group were photographed with Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark outside the B.C. Legislature.

Mark said in a statement that she “certainly had no reason to think that there would be anyone in attendance who associates with a criminal organization.”

“Anyone who associates with gangs and organized crime is putting themselves and their friends and families at risk,” Mark said. “We’re following up with the organizers to raise concerns.”

The BCCOM has held the MLA ride for 26 years.

Meanwhile, Postmedia has learned that the Knights have recently opened a clubhouse in North Burnaby.

Elmes and another member bought the house in the 5400-block Parker Street in January for $1.65 million, B.C. property records show.

Elmes advertised on Facebook in March hat his biker club would be hosting an event on the last Thursday of every month at the house, though he said people had to direct message him to get the address.

Elmes owns a second residence in North Burnaby a few blocks away from the new clubhouse, assessed this year for $1.76 million.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for an interview about his group’s relationship with the Knights.

Hells Angels expert Brad Stephen, a retired Vancouver police officer and one-time firefighter, said in an interview that firefighters are held in high regard in the community and that the Knights are damaging that reputation.

“There is a high degree of public trust and public respect that is bestowed upon your position as a firefighter in the community. You are required to respond to rescues, respond to medical emergencies in the middle of the night. You go into people’s homes. You go into people’s businesses. You are often required to go into secure facilities and you are exposed to confidential scenarios and confidential information,” Stephen said. “You work hand in hand with police agencies …. all of sudden now there is a group of firefighters who have decided to form the Florian’s Knights and to ingratiate themselves with the Hells Angels.”

kbolan@postmedia.com

 

A memo obtained by Postmedia says that Nick Elmes, a firefighter who founded a biker club, is no longer employed by the City of Burnaby.

“Effective today, Nick Elmes is no longer employed by the City of Burnaby,” Acting Fire Chief Dave Samson says in the terse, one-line internal memo, which was sent out on Wednesday afternoon.

The memo’s subject is simply “Nick Elmes.”

It’s not clear whether Elmes resigned or was fired. The Burnaby Fire Department wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Earlier this month, Postmedia’s Kim Bolan revealed that Elmes and two other Burnaby firefighters, as well as two New Westminster firefighters and a retired firefighter from Vancouver were members of Florian’s Knights.

The club was recently formed and Elmes told Bolan he was one of the founders.

Members of the clubs have been appearing at events alongside members of the Hells Angels. Elmes said those events were open to anyone to attend. The Knights club was formed to raise money for charity and that no one should be concerned, he added.

Elmes was photographed with three Hells Angels members, including Kelowna president Damiano Dipopolo. Elmes said he and Dipopolo were childhood friends.

The Knights have been wearing a three-piece patch on the backs of their leather vests, meaning they sought permission from the Hells Angels when they were forming, retired police biker expert Brad Stephen told Postmedia.

He called this “disturbing.”

Earlier this month, Burnaby Fire Chief Joe Robertson said he also had concerns about the Knights and has met with the RCMP to discuss the issue.

“The city and the fire department do not condone any association of our members with the Hells Angels. We support the good work that all the rest of our firefighters do in the community,” Robertson said. “This reflects really poorly on the good work that everybody else does.”

Some of the Knights have been wearing their vests, known as “colours” on their way to work, Robertson said. He added that while he was displeased that those firefighters were doing so, advice from lawyers had told the department nothing could be done by the employer to stop employees from wearing colours on their way to work

with files from Postmedia News

pjohnston@postmedia.com

twitter.com/risingaction

As many as 300 outlaw bikers will celebrate a Hells Angels’ anniversary in Nanaimo this weekend under the watchful eye of B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.

In 1983, the biker gang put down roots in B.C. when they established chapters in Nanaimo, White Rock, Vancouver and East End Vancouver.

B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says this weekend’s 35th anniversary ride will be attended by Hells Angels members along with several other outlaw motorcycle gang members and groups, and members of numerous Hells Angels support clubs.

Related

• Lack of 'criminal' designation for Hells Angels in B.C. allows biker gang to flourish

“It is no secret and is well documented that many of the participants of these such events are individuals and members of clubs associated to and who participate in criminal activity,” said Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, CFSEU-BC spokesperson. “Police attend these events for many reasons, such as to deter any illegal activity and ensure public safety by way of an overt police presence”.

The CFSEU says Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, who will be in Nanaimo with the Uniform Gang Enforcement Team, will be monitoring the event and keeping the public informed of the activities on his Twitter account.

I started the Real Scoop 10 years ago this weekend by doing a live blog on the 25th anniversary bash of the Hells Angels at the Langley property owned by the White Rock chapter.

So it’s appropriate that I cover the 35th anniversary party in Nanaimo this weekend. I am heading over tomorrow and will file stories on whatever transpires this weekend.

No one is expecting problems, but there will be a large contingent of police on hand monitoring the event.

Here’s my advance story on the anniversary:

As the Hells Angels mark their 35th anniversary with a party in Nanaimo this weekend, police say the group continues to expand in B.C. despite a series of high-profile arrests and convictions over the last decade.

More than 300 bikers from across Canada are expected to attend the Vancouver Island bash to celebrate the day the first three B.C. chapters were formed, July 23, 1983.

Since the 25th anniversary party in Langley a decade ago, members of B.C.’s most notorious gang have been murdered, shot, charged with murder and convicted of international drug smuggling, extortion, manslaughter and more.

The B.C. Hells Angels started with branches in Nanaimo, Vancouver and White Rock, but have now expanded to 10 chapters and 114 members, entry-level prospects and hang-arounds — the term used for men hoping to join the HA.

Police will be in Nanaimo this weekend to gather information and make sure the biker festivities don’t get out of hand.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, of B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said “it’s well-documented that many of the participants of these events are individuals and members of clubs associated to and who participate in criminal activities.”

CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton noted the many high-profile cases in recent years that link the Hells Angels to violence, drug trafficking and other crimes.

• In 2013, Kelowna Hells Angels Norm Cocks and Robert Thomas pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years.

• In September 2016, two other Kelowna Hells Angels were convicted for their roles in an international cocaine importing scheme that had been cooked up by police as part of an undercover operation.

• A month later, prominent Mission Hells Angel Bob Green was shot to death at an all-night booze and drug party in Langley.

• Early this year, West Point Hells Angel Larry Amero was charged with conspiracy to commit murder for plots that left two rivals dead in 2012. And B.C.

• Hells Angels Jason Arkinstall and Chad Wilson were convicted in Spain of importing cocaine.

“I think it is fair to say that there’s a portion of the public who sees through their lies and sees through this free-living, charity-riding mystique that they want to portray and see them for what they are, a significant international criminal organization,” Houghton said.

“They are still expanding, they are still looking to shore up their power base and ensure that they maintain the highest levels of influence and intimidation within the criminal landscape, the organized crime landscape.”

Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay said Thursday that he doesn’t expect any problems at this year’s party.

“To be honest with you, they used to come to the city every year and have a big party out at Angel Acres. I don’t believe they were ever much of a problem,” he said of the bikers and their large property, which the B.C. government is trying to seize through a civil forfeiture case. “I don’t expect that they will cause the community any challenges.”

He said the provincial government would be covering the costs of the extra police in town for the weekend.

Asked if he considers the HA an organized crime group, McKay said: “Police would know better than myself, but I believe there are connections there, yes.”

“Police are doing their job to ensure the safety of our community and we thank them for that,” he said.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for an interview about the anniversary. Ciarniello has been a fixture in the courtroom during the civil forfeiture trial over the fate of three clubhouses which the government agency says would be used to commit future crimes if the Hells Angels were allowed to keep them.

The trial began in April, but has been adjourned until the fall.

Houghton said that despite the efforts of the police, some in the public still support the Hells Angels and “think they are OK people.”

“We still see when they do these rides, that people come out to watch them because they are interested,” he said.

Seventy-one per cent of B.C.’s Hells Angels have criminal records for violence offences, Houghton said.

And the Hells Angels have links to other gangs, like the Red Scorpions, Independent Soldiers and Wolf Pack that have been directly involved in a violent gang war over the last decade, centred in Metro Vancouver.

“We know as the province’s gang agency that we have a lot of work to do to educate the public about what these people and the groups and what their reputations really are,” he said.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/blog/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

---

Timeline of some events related to the Hells Angels in B.C. over the past decade:

July 13, 2009 – Four Hells Angels were convicted on a series of charges stemming from the E-Pandora investigation targeting the East End Hells Angels in Vancouver.

Aug. 14, 2011 – Hells Angel Larry Amero was seriously wounded in a targeted Kelowna shooting that left Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon dead and two others wounded.

Nov. 1, 2012 – Amero charged in Montreal with associates in the Wolf Pack with leading international cocaine smuggling ring.

Jan. 30, 2013 – Two Kelowna Hells Angels, Norman Cocks and Robert Thomas, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Dec. 16, 2014 – Longtime Hells Angel Robert “Fred” Widdifield, a founding member of the Nanaimo chapter, was convicted of extortion and theft. He was later sentenced to five years.

Sept. 30, 2016 – Kelowna Hells Angel Dave Giles was convicted of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; Hells Angel Bryan Oldham was found guilty of one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine.

Oct. 16, 2016 – High-profile Hells Angel Bob Green, of the Mission City chapter,  is found shot to death in Langley. A day later, his friend and gang associate Jason Wallace turned himself into police. Wallace later pleaded guilty to manslaughter after telling the court his and his family’s lives were threatened after the drunken, drug-fuelled shooting.

Oct. 26, 2016 – White Rock Hells Angels prospect Mohammed Rafiq, 43, was shot in the face while driving near his Burnaby home. He survived.

March 19, 2017 – The body of Nanaimo Hells Angels prospect Michael Gregory Widner is found near Sooke, days after he was reported missing. He was murdered.

Aug. 30, 2017 – Montreal conspiracy charges stayed against Hells Angel Larry Amero due to delays in the case.

Jan. 25, 2018 – Hells Angel Larry Amero is charged with conspiracy to kill rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak. Both were shot to death months apart in 2012. The murders are believed to have been retaliation for the 2011 Kelowna shooting.

April 23, 2018 – Civil forfeiture case begins in B.C. Supreme Court, more than a decade after the case began. It has now been adjourned until fall 2018.

---

Hells Angels chapters in B.C.

Vancouver, opened in 1983.

White Rock, opened in 1983.

Nanaimo, opened in 1983.

East End Vancouver, opened in 1983.

Haney, opened in 1987.

Nomads, opened in 1998.

Mission City, opened in 1999.

Kelowna, opened in 2007.

West Point, opened in 2012.

Hardside, opened in 2017.

Here are two stories from 2008 that contains some of the original blog posts:

It’s time to party

Vancouver Sun
Sat Jul 26 2008
Page: A5
Section: News
Byline: Kim Bolan
Source: Vancouver Sun

The Sun’s Kim Bolan was outside the Hells Angels’ Langley clubhouse on Friday afternoon. Here are some edited excerpts from her blog, Real Scoop. She will have more coverage today at vancouversun.com/bolan.

12:50 p.m.

As of noon there is very little traffic outside the five-acre spread near 216th Street and 61st Avenue.

An RCMP command post can be seen behind a nearby chapel, but there is no visible police presence on the ditch-lined road.

Late in the morning, some bikers put huge white plastic sheets over the metal electronic gate to block the view of reporters and curiosity seekers. The smell of pot wafted from the clubhouse driveway.

2:09 p.m.

A lawyer for the Hells Angels arrives outside the clubhouse and is greeted by two large, vest-wearing men from inside.

They chat on the street in full earshot of a Sun reporter about how they believe the police are breaking the law by closing off a street to control which road the bikers use to enter the party. The lawyer hands around his business card and tells them he will be available if they need him.

An outdoor stage with a sound system can be seen through the chain-link fence before “hangarounds” are ordered to put up more plastic — this time black — to block our view.

Everyone on site appears to have a special ID pass for the party with the number 81 on it — code for Hells Angels (the eighth and first letters of the alphabet).

3:08 p.m.

The Angels are getting chatty with reporters, asking us to pick them up Starbucks coffee if we do a run.

Bikers from Alberta arrive in formation, their skull logos prominent on their vests.

About 10 bikers stand outside the front gate as the biggest police gathering of the day forms a few metres away.

There are RCMP officers and some riot-squad-like police sporting unfamiliar “BEU” badges. We ask who they are and they say they are the Biker Enforcement Unit from Ontario. They begin snapping photos of the bikers on their phone cameras.

3:30 p.m.

Let the party begin. About 80 bikers just arrived, the biggest group by far.

Some are from Sherbrooke, Que. Others are from the Angels’ Prince George puppet club, the Renegades. They are held up at the police barricade, but then are let through and are greeted at the gate by biker brothers with hugs and back-pats.

Police maintain a heavy presence at Hells Angel anniversary party

Vancouver Sun
Mon Jul 28 2008
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: Kim Bolan
Source: Vancouver Sun

A heavy police presence outside a party marking the 25th anniversary of the notorious Hells Angels in B.C. paid off with an incident-free weekend, Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force said Sunday.

Kirk said no one knows what would have happened if dozens of plainclothes and uniformed officers from across Canada had not been closely monitoring the party, held at the two-hectare Langley spread owned by the White Rock Hell’s Angels chapter.

Hells Angels members spent the weekend complaining to police about the level of scrutiny of the group and the fact the bikers were restricted from using the intersection of 216th Street and 61st Avenue to enter the party.

Kirk said the bikers were sent to a single entrance to keep the traffic flowing freely along the street for area residents and a couple of home-based businesses.

Curiosity-seekers who simply wanted to drive by the party were turned away at the barriers, Kirk said.

The Vancouver Sun monitored the party throughout the weekend and watched a number of heated exchanges between White Rock chapter members and police, who had a post immediately across the street from the clubhouse gate from Friday through Sunday.

Hundreds of people visited the compound throughout the weekend, with more than 100 Harleys on site. Hells Angels members from across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec rode in and out of the high-security gate both Saturday and Sunday, proudly wearing their leather vests with death head patches and labels of their chapters.

At least one British Hells Angel member attended, but several bikers from the U.S. who attempted to cross the border were turned away.

The party marked the founding on July 23, 1983 of the first three Hells Angels chapters in B.C.: Vancouver, White Rock and Nanaimo.

The tensest moment of the weekend came late Saturday afternoon when police attempted to ticket and remove the plates from an enormous monster truck parked across from the party and owned by Vancouver full-patch Angel Mike Robatzek.

Robatzek was furious and started swearing at the officers as a group of his buddies crossed over from the clubhouse to express their views. Robatzek also called his lawyer, having a conversation openly as he sat in the truck three metres above the police.

He was shirtless throughout the exchange, his entire back and chest covered with Hells Angels tattoos, as well as one of a handgun. He ended up pulling the vehicle into the compound, promising to get it inspected today.

“There was concern over the licensing and registration of a particular vehicle,” Kirk explained. “Officers went and spoke to the individuals there. Additional individuals came out. There was an exchange of words and that was the end of it.”

Here are excerpts from my blog posts from outside the party:

Noon Saturday: “It is still very quiet in front of the Langley Hells Angels clubhouse … Neighbours say the party went until 2 a.m. last night, music blasting from inside the compound. Most of the bikers did not sleep on site, but left pissed to the gills in chauffeured vans to nearby hotels where rooms have been booked.

A gatekeeper sporting a white T-shirt with RESPECT across the front and a gold death head pendant says tonight is the family dinner and the biggest bash of the weekend.

About 1 p.m., the police barricades go back up — this time not letting any of the bikers through; they must come and go in the other direction.

“They are fear-mongerers,” the RESPECT man says of police.

Bikers keep coming and going, revving up and down the quiet country road.

5 p.m. Saturday: Bikers and their girlfriends continue to arrive for “family night.” Some are on Harleys, but others are arriving in high-end luxury vehicles like Hummers and Lexuses. The music has started. One Hummer with Alberta plates advertises its business with detail painting: Showgirls Exotic Nightclub of Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie and Edmonton.

7 p.m. Saturday: One of the Angels is catering the big buffet dinner tonight. Two rows of metal serving dishes can be seen when the gate opens. The tables are all set and ready under white plastic canopies.

Noon Sunday: Life is back to normal on 61st in Langley.

 

Crime reporter Kim Bolan is in Nanaimo to cover the 35th anniversary of the first Hells Angels chapters in B.C. She will be live-tweeting events Friday and Saturday.

Read her feature here, and follow her live updates below:

Tweets by kbolan https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

NANAIMO — Hundreds of Hells Angels from across Canada spent Saturday partying at the local chapter’s biker clubhouse right next door to the one raided by the RCMP almost 11 years ago.

Attendees from as far away as P.E.I. and Nova Scotia began arriving Friday under the watchful eye of B.C.’s anti-gang agency — the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit — and other police forces.

Dozens of additional bikers rode over on the ferry Saturday, arriving in almost procession-like fashion at the Nanaimo compound to celebrate the Hells Angels 35th anniversary in B.C.

The old Hells Angels’ clubhouse at 805 Victoria Rd. remains behind a blue metal fence, a large ‘No Trespassing’ sign hanging on the dilapidated building.

It is the subject of an ongoing court battle between the Hells Angels and the B.C. director of civil forfeiture that began with the clubhouse raid in November 2007.

The warehouselike structure, assessed this year as being worth $104,000, no longer bears any markings of the notorious biker gang.

But right beside it, the Nanaimo Hells Angels have established an even bigger compound in two houses surrounded by gravel.

One of the properties being used is owned by Angels Acres, the same biker-owned corporation that was named as a defendant in the civil forfeiture case. The house, which has a new garage added on with Hells Angels signs inside, has a current assessed value of $242,000.

The second house, assessed at $303,000, is owned by Jeffrey Scott Pasanen, according to land title records obtained by Postmedia News.

Pasanen, a convicted drug trafficker, is a full-patch member of the Nanaimo chapter.

CFSEU and the other agencies in town to monitor the event took photographs as bikers mingled, did curfew checks on known HA associates and patrolled the streets in and around the party compound.

“Part of their presence here is to intimidate the public, intimidate and cause fear among rival criminal organizations and to re-establish or reaffirm that they are essentially the top dog,” CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said.

“We are here to keep them in check and make sure that nothing bad happens.”

The bikers seem to be friendly with many in the neighbourhood. Several area residents told Postmedia News they have no problem with the Hells Angels, but they didn’t want to be quoted.

Houghton said his agency is trying to educate the public about the Hells Angels’ link to organized crime in B.C., Canada and even abroad.

“British Columbia Hells Angels have a significant influence and presence worldwide, not just within the Hells Angels organization itself, but within criminal organizations worldwide,” he said, adding that they control the drug trade in most of the places they operate.

“The public needs to realize that this clubhouse isn’t just a clubhouse for fun. This is the clubhouse of a criminal organization and a major one at that.”

Asked about the fact the Nanaimo chapter re-established a clubhouse despite the civil forfeiture case, Houghton said: “It is continued motivation for us to not just target them overtly, but covertly as well. It is no secret that we look for every opportunity to investigate them.

“We will do everything we can to make sure their influence in communities like Nanaimo — or any community for that matter — is held in check.”

The bikers were on their best behaviour Friday and Saturday, though several were pulled over for alleged traffic violations.

A refrigeration truck was on the clubhouse grounds, as well as a stage, several tents and outdoor tables. Prospects and hangarounds — the lower-ranking people in the Hells Angels’ program — were doing security and arriving with supplies and stereo equipment.

While most Angels arrived on their Harleys, others came by taxi or passenger vans.

The first three chapters of the Hells Angels — Nanaimo, White Rock and Vancouver — started on July 23, 1983. Since then, the bikers have expanded with 10 chapters around the province and 121 members, prospects and associates.

Hells Angels B.C. spokesman Rick Ciarniello arrived at the Nanaimo clubhouse about noon Saturday. He did not respond to an emailed request for a comment about the anniversary party.

kbolan@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/kbolan

Blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

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NANAIMO — They arrived in unison, their faces covered by bandanas, and parked their Harleys in front of the old Hells Angels clubhouse here.

The patches on their backs said Los Diablos — The Devils — and featured the profile of a grim reaper with blood dripping from a fang.

Their bottom “rocker” stated their territory — the Tri-Cities.

And their presence at the invitation-only Hells Angels anniversary party this weekend established their bona fides as one of the HA’s newest puppet clubs.

Members of the Los Diablos, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, leave the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.

B.C.’s anti-gang agency says there’s been a disturbing increase in the number of affiliated motorcycle clubs opening in B.C. with the Hells Angels’ permission.

Related

• Hells Angels party it up in Nanaimo while police keep eyes wide open
• Photos: Hells Angels party in Nanaimo
• Hells Angels still expanding after 35 years in B.C.
• Read Kim Bolan's The Real Scoop blog here

“What we have seen is an expansion of the clubs themselves. People here on Vancouver Island will know the name Savages and the Devil’s Army — they are very high profile,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said. “Over on the Lower Mainland there are groups like the Jesters and the Shadow Club.”

And now there is Los Diablos, currently using a local Starbucks as its clubhouse.

Diablos pulled their face coverings up higher to avoid police lenses as they entered the weekend party, attended by more than 200 bikers.

A members of the Los Diablos, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, leaves the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo.

Houghton said the support clubs are dubbed puppets because the more established biker gang members are pulling the strings.

“The term couldn’t be a better term and that is their term. These guys are puppet masters in the truest sense,” Houghton said. “These are the farm teams for the Hells Angels.”

CFSEU biker experts have already seen puppet club members transfer over to become full-patch Hells Angels in recent years.

With the average age of a Hells Angel in B.C. at 49, new blood is needed, Houghton said.

“If they are going to survive, they need to replace those older members — many of them are retiring — with these younger guys,” Houghton said.

“These young guys are aggressive. They are the ones who want to make money. They don’t have the money and the stature and the reputation especially in the criminal underworld that these old guys have, having built from the early ’80s.”

Houghton said it is important for police to attend events like the anniversary party to documents associations between new puppet clubs and the Hells Angels.

Members of the Horsemen Brotherhood arrive at the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.

Both the Devil’s Army and Langford Savages appeared to be helping with party preparations and were seen carrying in supplies. The Army, based in Campbell River, was manning the barbecue.

Also in attendance were the Throttle Lockers, from 100 Mile House, the Jesters and Shadow Club, both out of Surrey, the Horsemen Brotherhood and a few out-of-province puppet club members.

Houghton said CFSEU is tracking the puppet clubs.

“We know who they are. We watch them very closely and that’s why events like this are very important for us from an intelligence perspective,” he said. “This is an invitation-only event so you have to have some pretty significant status to get invited to this. It is a big event for the Hells Angels.”

Members of the Shadow Club, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, look at the bikes parked outside of the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.

He said the puppet clubs have to mimic the Hells Angels in structure and rules. Not all of them survive. In recent years, the Renegades in Prince George folded after a series of arrests of members.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello, who attended the anniversary party, did not respond to requests for an interview.

Houghton said puppet clubs are used to protect Hells Angels members so “they are multiple degrees separated from the actual street-level distribution of drugs.”

“They do a very good job of insulating themselves. And quite frankly, that is one of the reasons why they’ve been successful. And it is a challenge for police to gather information and evidence to investigate them. Never mind the fact that people are fearful and they don’t want to come forward.”

Police stop members of the Los Diablos, a puppet club of the Hell Angels, in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.

But they can also face risks when Hells Angels are targeted with violence and they are nearby.

“There are real consequences. Even just hanging out with them, it may seem like fun riding bikes with these guys for the weekend, but you are putting yourself at risk, you are putting your family at risk,” Houghton said. “And that’s why we are here to make sure that everyone stays safe.”

Members and guests of the Hell Angels hang out on the back deck of the Nanaimo Hell Angels’ clubhouse in Nanaimo, BC, July, 21, 2018.

Related

• Hells Angels party it up in Nanaimo while police keep eyes wide open
• Photos: Hells Angels party in Nanaimo
• Hells Angels still expanding after 35 years in B.C.
• Read Kim Bolan's The Real Scoop blog here

Timeline of some events related to the Hells Angels in B.C. over the past decade:

July 13, 2009 – Four Hells Angels were convicted on a series of charges stemming from the E-Pandora investigation targeting the East End Hells Angels in Vancouver.

Aug. 14, 2011 – Hells Angel Larry Amero was seriously wounded in a targeted Kelowna shooting that left Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon dead and two others wounded.

Hells Angel Larry Ronald Amero in file photo

Nov. 1, 2012 – Amero charged in Montreal with associates in the Wolf Pack with leading international cocaine smuggling ring.

Jan. 30, 2013 – Two Kelowna Hells Angels, Norman Cocks and Robert Thomas, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for beating Kelowna grandfather Dain Phillips to death as he attempted to resolve a dispute his sons had with some HA associates. They were sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Dec. 16, 2014 – Longtime Hells Angel Robert “Fred” Widdifield, a founding member of the Nanaimo chapter, was convicted of extortion and theft. He was later sentenced to five years.

Sept. 30, 2016 – Kelowna Hells Angel Dave Giles convicted of one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; James Howard was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine; and Bryan Oldham and Shawn Womacks were found guilty of one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine.

Oct. 16, 2016 – High-profile Hells Angel Bob Green is found shot to death in Langley. A day later, his friend and gang associate Jason Wallace turned himself into police. He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter after telling the court his and his family’s lives were threatened after the drunken, drug-fuelled shooting.

Senior B.C. Hells Angel Bob Green.

Oct. 26, 2016 – White Rock Hells Angels prospect Mohammed Rafiq, 43, was shot in the face while driving near his Burnaby home. He survived.

March 19, 2017 – The body of Nanaimo Hells Angels prospect Michael Gregory Widner is found near Sooke, days after he was reported missing. He was murdered.

Aug. 30, 2017 – Montreal conspiracy charges stayed against Hells Angel Larry Amero due to delays in the case.

Jan. 25, 2018 – Hells Angel Larry Amero is charged with conspiracy to kill rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak. Both were shot to death months apart in 2012. The murders are believed to have been retaliation for the 2011 Kelowna shooting.

April 23, 2018 – Civil forfeiture case begins in B.C. Supreme Court, more than a decade after the case began. It has now been adjourned until fall 2018.

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I have written stories about so-called puppet clubs before – back in 2006 when the Outcasts and the Jesters were formed, then again in 2009 when several new ones like the Throttle Lockers and Handsome Bastards formed in the interior.

But police are saying there are more of the support organizations than ever, including at least two that have opened within the last 18 months. They are concerned the puppet clubs extend the criminal reach or the Hells Angels.

Here’s my story:

NANAIMO — They arrived in unison, their faces covered by bandanas, and parked their Harleys in front of the old Hells Angels clubhouse here.

The patches on their backs said Los Diablos — The Devils — and featured the profile of a grim reaper with blood dripping from a fang.

Their bottom “rocker” stated their territory — the Tri-Cities.

And their presence at the invitation-only Hells Angels anniversary party this weekend established their bona fides as one of the HA’s newest puppet clubs.

B.C.’s anti-gang agency says there’s been a disturbing increase in the number of affiliated motorcycle clubs opening in B.C. with the Hells Angels’ permission.

“What we have seen is an expansion of the clubs themselves. People here on Vancouver Island will know the name Savages and the Devil’s Army — they are very high profile,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said. “Over on the Lower Mainland there are groups like the Jesters and the Shadow Club.”

And now there is Los Diablos, currently using a local Starbucks as its clubhouse.

Diablos pulled their face coverings up higher to avoid police lenses as they entered the weekend party, attended by more than 200 bikers.

Houghton said the support clubs are dubbed puppets because the more established biker gang members are pulling the strings.

“The term couldn’t be a better term and that is their term. These guys are puppet masters in the truest sense,” Houghton said. “These are the farm teams for the Hells Angels.”

CFSEU biker experts have already seen puppet club members transfer over to become full-patch Hells Angels in recent years.

With the average age of a Hells Angel in B.C. at 49, new blood is needed, Houghton said.

“If they are going to survive, they need to replace those older members — many of them are retiring — with these younger guys,” Houghton said.

“These young guys are aggressive. They are the ones who want to make money. They don’t have the money and the stature and the reputation especially in the criminal underworld that these old guys have, having built from the early ’80s.”

Houghton said it is important for police to attend events like the anniversary party to documents associations between new puppet clubs and the Hells Angels.

Both the Devil’s Army and Langford Savages appeared to be helping with party preparations and were seen carrying in supplies. The Army, based in Campbell River, was manning the barbecue.

Also in attendance were the Throttle Lockers, from 100 Mile House, the Jesters and Shadow Club, both out of Surrey, the Horsemen Brotherhood and a few out-of-province puppet club members.

Houghton said CFSEU is tracking the puppet clubs.

“We know who they are. We watch them very closely and that’s why events like this are very important for us from an intelligence perspective,” he said. “This is an invitation-only event so you have to have some pretty significant status to get invited to this. It is a big event for the Hells Angels.”

He said the puppet clubs have to mimic the Hells Angels in structure and rules. Not all of them survive. In recent years, the Renegades in Prince George folded after a series of arrests of members.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello, who attended the anniversary party, did not respond to requests for an interview.

Houghton said puppet clubs are used to protect Hells Angels members so “they are multiple degrees separated from the actual street-level distribution of drugs.”

“They do a very good job of insulating themselves. And quite frankly, that is one of the reasons why they’ve been successful. And it is a challenge for police to gather information and evidence to investigate them. Never mind the fact that people are fearful and they don’t want to come forward.”

But they can also face risks when Hells Angels are targeted with violence and they are nearby.

“There are real consequences. Even just hanging out with them, it may seem like fun riding bikes with these guys for the weekend, but you are putting yourself at risk, you are putting your family at risk,” Houghton said. “And that’s why we are here to make sure that everyone stays safe.”

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

A West Vancouver man associated with the Hells Angels has been shot to death in Mexico, Postmedia News has learned.

Guiseppe Bugge, 42, died in a hail of bullets Thursday night at a posh shopping centre in an exclusive neighbourhood of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Local news reports said three vehicles pulled up about 9:30 p.m. and between eight and 10 men jumped out and fired at Bugge, who has a long history of fraud in B.C.

More than 140 bullets were fired at him, killing him instantly and injuring one of his Mexican-American associates and two bystanders.

Jalisco prosecutor Raúl Sánchez Jiménez said at a news conference that the state government had asked the Canadian and American consulates for information about Bugge and the injured man.

Sgt. Brenda Winpenny of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Bugge is known to police in this province.

“He is associated with the Hells Angels and involved in drug trafficking,” Winpenny said.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the federal government is providing “consular services” to the victim’s family.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Canadian citizen who has been murdered in Mexico,” Brittany Fletcher said in an email.

“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information. Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act, no further information can be disclosed.”

The Canadian government has issued advisories warning people not to travel to several northern and western states in Mexico “due to the high levels of violence and organized crime.”

But the state of Jalisco, where the city of Guadalajara is located, is not under an advisory.

Bugge had been living in a West Vancouver house with a 2018 assessed value of more than $5 million.

In March 2018, he incorporated a company called G.S. Crypto Currency Ltd. with the B.C. corporate registry. He was listed as the sole director.

In July, Bugge and his new company sued the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce after it froze his corporate account to do an investigation of a transaction.

“As a business, Crypto exchanges currency for a digital currency known as Bitcoin,” Bugge’s suit says.

The court documents say Bugge was notified that his account was under investigation on June 4, 2018 over a $134,408 US cheque he took from a customer to buy Bitcoin.

He filed his suit days later, saying in it that “Bugge was not prepared to tolerate an indefinite block of the accounts.”

He won a default court order to release the funds on July 5 because CIBC filed no response, Bugge’s court documents state.

Bugge also has a second company called GSSK Rare Coins and Paper Money, which he started in 2013.

And he has operated a number of moving companies over the years that were the subject of many customer complaints and at least one criminal investigation.

In April, 2005, a truck belonging to Bugge’s Student Pro Movers was seized by U.S. authorities at the Blaine border crossing, where agents found 285 kilograms of marijuana stuffed inside. The driver of the truck was arrested, charged and later pled guilty to smuggling.

Around the same time, customers of Bugge’s moving company from as far away as Alaska and Texas were reporting their goods had never arrived. One customer, who finally retrieved her property from a storage facility, noticed the lining on her couch was slit.

In June 2005, Bugge was kidnapped in what police described as a drug trade-linked extortion.

He later showed up at a stranger’s door assaulted, handcuffed in plastic straps and suffering from cuts.

Three men later pled guilty to unlawful confinement, but other charges against them were dropped.

Also in 2005, Bugge was cited by the B.C. Financial Institution Commission for selling insurance to customers of his moving business without authorization and ordered to discontinue the practice.

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I got a tip about this murder in Guadalajara late Thursday of a man well-known to police on the Lower Mainland.

Guiseppe Bugge, also known as Benny, had been linked to the drug trade in B.C. for years before he was targeted in Mexico.

I don’t really know much about Bugge, except what I learned from our archives and court searches. If anyone has more information, or a photo, please email me at kbolan@postmedia.com

Here’s my story:

A Hamilton man who tried to kill a member of the Hells Angels at the Vancouver airport has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Knowah Ferguson, 21, pleaded guilty to the April 2015 attempted murder of Damion Ryan and to a conspiracy several months later to murder a Surrey man who has not been identified.

In imposing sentence Wednesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten said both crimes involved considerable planning and premeditation.

“Mr. Ferguson travelled to Vancouver for the specific purpose of committing one or more murders,” said the judge.

“He actively engaged in the planning process, receiving instructions from persons he knew or reasonably ought to have known were involved in gang-related activities.”

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten.

The judge said she accepted that Ferguson was not the directing mind behind the contemplated killings, but he played an integral role in moving the events forward.

“He was much more than a passive conduit who received and obeyed instructions. For both offences, Mr. Ferguson was motivated by money.”

Ferguson got on a bus and travelled to Vancouver from Hamilton, Ont., along with another young man who can only identified as Witness X due to a publication ban.

Ferguson told Witness X that their Lower Mainland contacts were members of something called the UN, an apparent reference to the UN gang, and that the “hits” they were going to carry out were part of an ongoing gang conflict in the Vancouver area.

He told Witness X they could make $200,000 by killing a person at Vancouver International Airport.

They were initially provided with $4,000, and over the next three months were given more money by persons the Crown has declined to identify.

Ferguson acquired two handguns and a silencer in a meeting with two men in an alley in downtown Vancouver and tested the weapons in an alley near the motel where they were staying.

On the day of the attempted murder, Ferguson was dropped off by Witness X at a Canada Line SkyTrain station and took a train to the airport.

He sat near Ryan and another man named Thomas Duong, a UN gang associate, who was seated with Ryan in the airport’s crowded food court and who had set up Ryan, according to the Crown.

Ferguson pulled out a firearm, walked up to Ryan, pointed the gun to the back of Ryan’s head and pulled the trigger. Ryan was only saved when the firearm jammed.

Both men fled the airport.

Despite the failure of the attempted murder, Ferguson, Witness X and a third man from Hamilton named Gino McCall were recruited to attempt a second hit, on a man who lived in Surrey.

They scouted the location of the murder target’s townhouse several times.

On a third occasion, when they travelled to Surrey to commit the murder, they were unable to locate the target and returned to Vancouver. But their stolen vehicle was spotted by its owner and they were later pulled over and arrested by police.

The judge noted an aggravating circumstance was that after the failure to kill Ryan, Ferguson had ample opportunity to step back and reconsider his actions but did not do so.

“More than two months passed between the attempted murder and the drive out to Surrey to shoot the second target. Mr. Ferguson did not step back.”

The judge said the mitigating factors included the offender’s youth — he had just turned 18 at the time of the offences — and the fact that he was a first-time offender and that his prospects for rehabilitation were good.

After receiving credit for pre-sentence custody, Ferguson will have about 6 1/2 years of prison time remaining.

The Crown had called for a sentence of 12 years in prison while the defence argued for seven years.

Witness X earlier was sentenced to 38 months in prison after pleading guilty to a firearm-related offence and agreeing to testify against Ferguson. McCall, who pleaded guilty to involvement in the Surrey murder conspiracy, got seven years in prison.

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B.C.’s top gang cops say they’re concerned about the message Toronto rapper Drake is sending his fans by wearing the support gear of a violent motorcycle gang.

In a photo posted Aug. 21 to U.S. rapper Travis Scott’s Instagram account, 31-year-old Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, can be seen sitting beside Scott wearing a dark-coloured hoodie with ‘Toronto’ emblazoned across the chest above a circular logo bearing the slogan ‘Support Downtown Big Red Machine’ and the No. 81 (eight stands for ‘H’, one stands for ‘A’ in the alphabet). Both are well-known references to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

The hoodie Drake is wearing likely came from Route 81 Toronto, which sells Hells Angels merchandise online and at a store on Carlaw Avenue, including $120 embroidered hoodies with the same circular logo. The store’s Instagram account reposted the photo of Drake wearing the hoodie. The store didn’t return calls this week.

The photo had received more than 1.1 million ‘likes’ from Instagram-users by Thursday.

A screen grab from Travis Scott’s Instagram account shows a photo posted Aug. 21 of rapper Drake wearing Hells Angels support gear.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” said Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.

He pointed to Drake’s statuses as a role model for youth and children, holder of a key to the City of Toronto and global ambassador for the Toronto Raptors basketball team. The Grammy-award-winning musician is celebrated for his charitable work.

Houghton is questioning why Drake, with his massive fan base and influence, would wear the branding of an international criminal organization whose members have been convicted of drug trafficking and extremely violent offences, including “very high-profile gang wars where children were killed” and murders across the globe.

“This is a walking billboard for the Hells Angels and this is exactly what the Hells Angels want,” he said. “They want individuals like him to wear their paraphernalia and propaganda to portray a positive image, to counteract and provide a counter-message to messages and reporting from the media and police and, quite frankly, from the victims who they’ve impacted.”

The Hells Angels retail store on Carlaw Avenue in Toronto is pictured on September 17, 2013.

The club only allows its own members to wear clothing printed with the words “Hells Angels” or the club’s “death’s head” logo. Support merchandise, like the hoodie worn by Drake, can be worn by anyone and is generally sold with branding such as “Support 81,” “Support Red and White” or “Support Big Red Machine.”

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said that because no one is suggesting Drake is breaking the law by wearing the support gear, it would be inappropriate for the force to comment.

“I will leave it up to others to comment on his clothing choices,” Pugash said.

Asked about the Drake photo, Rick Ciarniello, a Hells Angels spokesman in B.C., said only: “I don’t think there’s anything to talk about.”

Requests for comment from Drake’s publicist and agent weren’t returned.

Houghton said he believes there is no way Drake put the hoodie on without realizing what message he was sending.

“You’d have to have been living under a rock, especially back east, to not know who the Hells Angels are,” he said.

Houghton said he was also concerned by Drake’s use of the No. 81 in a verse of his song ‘God’s Plan’, which some people believe is a reference to Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points against the Raptors during a game in 2006, but which others believe is a nod to the gang: “Fifty Dub, I even got it tatted on me; 81, they’ll bring the crashers to the party; and you know me.”

The Hells Angels retail store on Carlaw Avenue in Toronto is pictured on September 17, 2013.

Drake commented on the Scott photo from his own Instagram account, which has 46 million followers, with “Wow v v v rare 81 crashers,” suggesting Houghton’s interpretation of the lyric is accurate.

“For him to use the term ’81’, everyone knows that stands for ‘HA’,” Houghton said. “Their branding, the name, the death head, are used to intimidate, cause fear and all of that, which we and many other police agencies have talked about for many, many years.”

Houghton said his unit hasn’t reached out to Drake — and he doesn’t plan to — but he’d be happy to chat about the Hells Angels concerns with Drake if he called. He said gangsters laugh at such displays and when their members show up at public events, such hockey games, wearing their gang colours.

“We don’t think we have to remind many people here in British Columbia of some of the tragedies that have come at the hands of the Hells Angels and other gangs and organized crime groups,” he said. “We certainly wouldn’t have to remind folks back in Ontario and Quebec, especially those who lived through the unbelievably violent gang wars of the ’80s and ’90s.”

Houghton said it’s common knowledge that money generated from the sale of support gear is used for the Hells Angels defence fund, which helps its members fight charges for murder and other crimes.

“While it may seem innocuous and not very connected if someone drops $20 or $30 on a hat or T-shirt or sticker, in aggregate we’re talking about a lot of money. It’s a global brand and it most likely generates a significant amount of money.”

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My colleague Scott Brown had written a story about the beating of a Vancouver Police officer after a Durango was pulled over on Robson Oct. 9.

Then I heard from a source that two of those charged are the sons of original East End chapter Hells Angel Lloyd Robinson so added in those details to Scott’s report.

Here’s our story:

Sons of original East End Hells Angel linked to assault of

Vancouver police officer

Two of three men charged with assaulting a Vancouver police officer Tuesday are sons of an original member of the East End Hells Angels, Postmedia has learned.

A Vancouver police officer was taken to hospital Tuesday night after he was beaten during a routine traffic stop in downtown Vancouver.

It happened at around 10 p.m. when two plainclothes officers pulled over a Dodge Durango on Robson Street after they spotted travelling through an area of Granville Street closed to private vehicles.

The VPD says the three men in the vehicle, all in their early 20s and well-known to the police, were confrontational and verbally abusive during the traffic stop.

“The officers became concerned for their safety as the occupants refused to follow police direction and began reaching under the seat,” VPD spokesman Sgt. Jason Robillard said in a news release.

The assault began when one officer opened the passenger door and the front passenger pulled him into the vehicle and two men began punching him in the face. As the other officer rushed to help, all three men got out of the vehicle and continued to assault the officers.

While the officers were waiting for backup to arrive, one of the three men ran away and was hit by a pickup truck as he crossed an intersection against a red light.

The man continued to run for two more blocks before being arrested by the uninjured officer, who was giving chase.

“This is an example of the risk all police officers face as they work to protect the citizens they serve. This sort of incident affects the entire policing community,” said Robillard. “We wish our officer a speedy recovery and will ensure the officer and his family have the support they need.”

Troy Michael Robinson, born in 1996, and his brother Brendan John Robinson, born in 1997, both of West Vancouver, were arrested Tuesday by Vancouver police after fleeing the scene of the assault.

Both are sons of Lloyd Robinson, who retired from the Hells Angels several years ago.

The elder Robinson is the half-brother of John Bryce, the president of the East End chapter of the notorious biker gang.

Lloyd Robinson left the HA after a major undercover investigation in which police agent Micheal Plante infiltrated the gang by getting close to him.

Both Troy and Brendan Robinson are charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest along with a third man, Brian Benjamin Allen, of Victoria.

Allen is also charged with possession of stolen property worth under $5,000.

Troy and Brendan’s brother, Lloyd Robinson Jr., was convicted in 2014 of assaulting a taxi driver and breaking his nose and eye sockets . He was sentenced to 16 months in jail.

In a video of Tuesday’s incident posted to YouTube, a witness, who claims to have assisted in the arrest, can be heard questioning the arresting officer’s use of force.

“That dude kicked him in the stomach pretty hard for no reason,” the man said while pointing at the officer.

“He severely assaulted my partner and he is combative,” responded the officer.

Warning: Video contains crude language and violence

The VPD said the man who ran from the scene was lucky not to have been seriously injured. He was check in hospital and released.

The injured police officer, meanwhile, is recovering at home.

“The injuries are to the head and face, and we consider them to be substantial injuries,” said Robillard.

Robillard was asked at a Thursday media conference if the officers, who were dressed in plainclothes, properly identified themselves as the police.

“These officers in this particular case were in plainclothes. They did pull this vehicle over with their emergency lights on their vehicle, they did identify themselves as police officers, and there is no doubt in my mind that the three occupants in the vehicle knew they were police officers — just from comments made and evidence I read,” he said.