Do you want to support organized crime?
That’s the question RCMP Cpl. Andy Cook wants Islanders to think about as a Hells Angels affiliated group sets up shop in P.E.I.
Cook works in drug and organized crime awareness with the RCMP in P.E.I. and said intelligence the force received indicates a group associated with the Angels is forming with a membership of people who already live on the Island.
With that new presence connected to people from P.E.I., Cook wants Islanders to ask themselves if they want a criminal organization setting up on the Island.
“Do you want to be the person that if you support these people, support them in their business, support them socially, you’re supporting organized crime?”
The Hells Angels are the biggest motorcycle gang in Canada with 36 chapters across the country.
They haven’t had a presence in P.E.I. other than the occasional visit like the one in 2015 that saw about 20 bikers stop in Charlottetown.
But that doesn’t mean P.E.I. hasn’t had an outlaw motorcycle gang presence.
The Bacchus Motorcycle Club formed a chapter in Kings County in 2012 with some members of the former Cerberus club “patching over” to the new group.
Members wear patches to show which clubs they belong to.
At least six full-patch members were needed to form a chapter of the Bacchus, which has a presence in every Atlantic province and expanded to Ontario in recent years.
Cook said they also expanded in P.E.I. recently by eight members and opened a new clubhouse in Alberton.
There are other motorcycle clubs in Charlottetown and Summerside, but they don’t wear the one per cent patch that self-identify them as motorcycle gangs.
Cook said so far there haven’t been any problems between the groups in P.E.I.
“Historically, here in P.E.I. everybody’s gotten along,” he said.
That’s something Cook worries could change with a Hells Angels presence in the province.
“The Hells Angels it’s a well documented history of them being a violent group,” Cook said.
He also said the Angels have a history of drug trafficking and extortion, leading the courts to declare them a criminal organization.
“That’s the baggage the Hells Angels bring with them wherever they go,” he said.
Although there haven’t been problems between the Bacchus and Hells Angels, Cook said the former expanded into Ontario in recent years and now the latter are moving into the Maritimes.
And soon after the RCMP heard other groups in the province were losing membership to the new club, the Bacchus expanded in P.E.I., Cook said.
Like with any other gang, Cook said they defend their turf and his concern is the potential for that to start happening here.
“People form the Island, that should be one of their biggest concerns.”
Conflict over turf is a big concern, Cook said, but he added P.E.I. doesn’t belong to bike gangs.
“It’s Islanders’ turf.”
Detective Staff Sgt. Len Isnor knows those concerns well from his work in the Ontario Provincial Police biker enforcement unit.
Isnor said the Hells Angels are into anything that will make them money and it is an organization that abides by a set of rules.
“Those rules are enforced by violence,” he said.
Any time Hells Angels move into a community people should be concerned and will notice their presence right away, Isnor said.
He said drugs will become more accessible and people will see them riding through the community.
“It’s the power that comes with that patch that actually will make them notice.”
The Hells Angels are a sophisticated organization that has people working for them and they will set up associated clubs that will work with them to make them successful, Isnor said.
He doesn’t think the Angels will set up a chapter in Charlottetown right away and said there is a process involved with a number of stages before a group becomes a full chapter.
“You just don’t start a Hells Angels club up.”
The Hells Angels used to have a chapter in Halifax, but after numerous arrests it shut down several years ago when the membership became too small to sustain it.
Since then, the group has started to expand its presence back into Nova Scotia.
Isnor said for the first time in years the Angels have a lot of people back on the street who are getting out of jail after numerous police operations.
“That’s why the interest all of a sudden in the Atlantic provinces because they’ve been able to expand at this time.”
Motorcycle clubs in P.E.I.
- Bacchus – Alliston, Alberton
- Saints - Charlottetown
- Charlottetown Harley Club - Charlottetown
- Villains – Summerside
- Dying Breed – Summerside
Twitter.com/ryanrross
Do you want to support organized crime?
That’s the question RCMP Cpl. Andy Cook wants Islanders to think about as a Hells Angels affiliated group sets up shop in P.E.I.
Cook works in drug and organized crime awareness with the RCMP in P.E.I. and said intelligence the force received indicates a group associated with the Angels is forming with a membership of people who already live on the Island.
With that new presence connected to people from P.E.I., Cook wants Islanders to ask themselves if they want a criminal organization setting up on the Island.
“Do you want to be the person that if you support these people, support them in their business, support them socially, you’re supporting organized crime?”
The Hells Angels are the biggest motorcycle gang in Canada with 36 chapters across the country.
They haven’t had a presence in P.E.I. other than the occasional visit like the one in 2015 that saw about 20 bikers stop in Charlottetown.
But that doesn’t mean P.E.I. hasn’t had an outlaw motorcycle gang presence.
The Bacchus Motorcycle Club formed a chapter in Kings County in 2012 with some members of the former Cerberus club “patching over” to the new group.
Members wear patches to show which clubs they belong to.
At least six full-patch members were needed to form a chapter of the Bacchus, which has a presence in every Atlantic province and expanded to Ontario in recent years.
Cook said they also expanded in P.E.I. recently by eight members and opened a new clubhouse in Alberton.
There are other motorcycle clubs in Charlottetown and Summerside, but they don’t wear the one per cent patch that self-identify them as motorcycle gangs.
Cook said so far there haven’t been any problems between the groups in P.E.I.
“Historically, here in P.E.I. everybody’s gotten along,” he said.
That’s something Cook worries could change with a Hells Angels presence in the province.
“The Hells Angels it’s a well documented history of them being a violent group,” Cook said.
He also said the Angels have a history of drug trafficking and extortion, leading the courts to declare them a criminal organization.
“That’s the baggage the Hells Angels bring with them wherever they go,” he said.
Although there haven’t been problems between the Bacchus and Hells Angels, Cook said the former expanded into Ontario in recent years and now the latter are moving into the Maritimes.
And soon after the RCMP heard other groups in the province were losing membership to the new club, the Bacchus expanded in P.E.I., Cook said.
Like with any other gang, Cook said they defend their turf and his concern is the potential for that to start happening here.
“People form the Island, that should be one of their biggest concerns.”
Conflict over turf is a big concern, Cook said, but he added P.E.I. doesn’t belong to bike gangs.
“It’s Islanders’ turf.”
Detective Staff Sgt. Len Isnor knows those concerns well from his work in the Ontario Provincial Police biker enforcement unit.
Isnor said the Hells Angels are into anything that will make them money and it is an organization that abides by a set of rules.
“Those rules are enforced by violence,” he said.
Any time Hells Angels move into a community people should be concerned and will notice their presence right away, Isnor said.
He said drugs will become more accessible and people will see them riding through the community.
“It’s the power that comes with that patch that actually will make them notice.”
The Hells Angels are a sophisticated organization that has people working for them and they will set up associated clubs that will work with them to make them successful, Isnor said.
He doesn’t think the Angels will set up a chapter in Charlottetown right away and said there is a process involved with a number of stages before a group becomes a full chapter.
“You just don’t start a Hells Angels club up.”
The Hells Angels used to have a chapter in Halifax, but after numerous arrests it shut down several years ago when the membership became too small to sustain it.
Since then, the group has started to expand its presence back into Nova Scotia.
Isnor said for the first time in years the Angels have a lot of people back on the street who are getting out of jail after numerous police operations.
“That’s why the interest all of a sudden in the Atlantic provinces because they’ve been able to expand at this time.”
Motorcycle clubs in P.E.I.
- Bacchus – Alliston, Alberton
- Saints - Charlottetown
- Charlottetown Harley Club - Charlottetown
- Villains – Summerside
- Dying Breed – Summerside
Twitter.com/ryanrross
