cannabisnews.com: Hell's Angels Are An Army in the Middle of a War 





Hell's Angels Are An Army in the Middle of a War 
Posted by FoM on June 12, 2000 at 07:22:12 PT
By Michael P. Regan   
Source: FoxNews
Biker gangs thrive in Canada, a country with plenty of open highways, lax marijuana laws and miles of secluded wilderness where bikers can pursue their hedonistic lifestyles with minimal hassles from the law and society. But the lucrative trade of distributing cocaine, as well as high-grade, hydroponic marijuana that is grown in Canada and smuggled over the mostly unpoliced border to the United States, has sparked bloody turf wars between the Hell's Angels and rival groups like the Rock Machine, the Bandidos and the Outlaws, according to Canadian newspapers. 
About 135 people have been killed in the turf wars since 1994 and many of them, including an 11-year-old bystander, have been blown up by bombs. It's gotten so violent that Hell's Angels have reportedly tried to recruit Canadian soldiers because of their skill with explosives and weapons. "It is well known that HA (Hell's Angels) are on the market as 'talent spotting' in weapons/explosives expertise," warns a Canadian military report obtained by The (Montreal) Gazette. According to a 1999 annual report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and members of Parliament, the Hell's Angels have almost doubled in size in several areas of Canada. And the growing number of biker-gang members have been a hot topic in the Canadian Parliament. "As we know, there are in Canada 38 criminal biker gangs, one of which in particular, the Hell's Angels, is made up of less than 200 individuals in Canada, but has 15 chapters, six of which are in Quebec. These individuals and this highly criminal group have managed to beat the most clever strategies and to infiltrate all spheres of society," House of Commoners member Réal Ménard told fellow members of Parliament recently. The Hell's Angels, like many organized crime and terrorist groups in Canada, take advantage of the country's antiquated laws about charities and fund-raising to raise and launder money. "The Hell's Angels have been around for 50 years and obviously they have an interface with lawyers, accountants and businesses," Ménard told members of Parliament. In order to fight the biker gangs, House of Commoners member Peter MacKay told Parliament members, "police officers and CSIS agents need to be high tech. They need to be on at least a level playing field and working together with a common goal to try to stop the expansion of organized crime." Ménard has a different plan, one that he says was implemented in Japan — to go after gang members' "colors," the same patches that Hell's Angels have fought countless fistfights defending. "I think the idea of prohibiting any public reference to these organizations and the wearing of crests should be considered," Ménard said. Monday, June 12, 2000© News Digital Media 2000. CannabisNews Articles On Canada:http://alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/search?type=all&query=cannabisnews+canada
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Comment #2 posted by Mango on May 06, 2001 at 09:49:18 PT
Biker wars
That last comment is moronic. Legalising marijuana will NOT put an end to gangs. When prohibition was repealed, that didn't put the mob out of business. Gangs will move on to distributing other illegal products. They will cary on with their sales of synthetic drigs (methamphetamines, ecstasy, etc.), cocaine, weapons, prostitutes, etc. 
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Comment #1 posted by Dan B on June 12, 2000 at 11:45:12 PT:
Organized Crime Fighting Organized Crime
Interesting that pressure from DEAland has caused this turf war. That is, if the organized crime lords in Washington (e.g., Congress, the chemical, tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceuticals industries, among others) weren't so hell-bent on keeping these insane anti-marijuana laws on the books, this alleged organized crime wave in Canada never would have escalated. Thanks to the Fed (American and Canadian), criminals have the opportunity to make loads of money--the primary factor leading to gang-related violence.
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