Hells Angels gang flourishes in Canada

The criminal organization of bikers has shown its vitality by gathering hundreds of members in Quebec, where it controls drug trafficking.

The largest gathering of bikers from Canadian organized crime took place in full view of everyone, Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12 in Quebec. About 500 members of the famous Hells Angels motorcycle club, one of the largest criminal organizations in the country, and affiliated clubs were gathered in the small town of Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu. A large police force was in place to monitor the event of this key organization of the Canadian drug trade.

Canada Run, an annual gathering of the country's Hells Angels, held in Quebec for the first time in a decade, was an opportunity for the club to show off its strength under the nose of the authorities. Despite an arrest and more than 300 reports of minor infractions by the police, the event was calm. The police presence was very visible, with the setting up of several roadblocks, the deployment of a helicopter and even an armored vehicle.

In 2009, a police operation called "SharQc" (Strategy Hells Angels ray Quebec) had allowed the arrest of more than 150 people and considerably weakened the organization, forcing his Quebec branch to be discreet in recent years. The high mass this weekend is a symptom of the resurgence of the "chapters" (local branch of the club, in the biker jargon) Quebec "Hells".

"Favorable judicial decisions"

"This is a show of force for all organized crime entities that would be tempted to come encroach on the territory of the Hells Angels, says Guy Lapointe, director of communications of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ). It is also a way to taunt the authorities, they have benefited during the last two years from favorable judicial decisions and they display much more their colors since. "

The rally is, according to Inspector Lapointe, mandatory for members in good standing of the gang, whose authorities estimate that it gathers approximately 500 people in Canada, including 80 in Quebec. The extensive police system put in place was designed to maintain order and gather information about the organization, its composition and hierarchy.

"It could be said that the Hells Angels are at the height of their fame right now," said Toronto Star reporter Peter Edwards, who has been covering Canadian motorcycle gangs since the 1980s. They are the biggest national players, settled in from one ocean to another, and about to be implanted in the Arctic. The police have tried different strategies to neutralize them, but they continue to reinvent themselves; they are very resilient. "

"Much less racist than they were"

The Hells Angels Club, founded in 1948 in the United States by veterans of the Second World War, was established in Canada by absorbing a local gang in Quebec in 1977. The success of its establishment in the country is partly attributable to the nature of their organization. Unlike criminal groups like the Italian mafia of Montreal, their recruitment is not based on ethnic or family ties. "When you're confined to an ethnic group, you're quickly limited," says Peter Edwards. Bikers are much less racist than they were, which allows them to work with many different ethnic groups. "

The rise of the Hells Angels did not happen without trouble, but at the price of bloody wars with gangs of rival bikers. The first, which pitted the Hells Angels against the Outlaws between 1977 and 1982, ensured the supremacy of the gang in Quebec. However, it is the "second motorcycle war of Quebec" that marked the spirits. The Hells Angels and their enemies, the Rock Machine later Bandidos, engaged in a merciless conflict from 1994 to 2002, killing more than 160 people.

Quebec is of strategic importance to the gang, because that is where a significant portion of the narcotics it brings into Canada passes through. Montreal is a port city and lends itself naturally to smuggling, especially since it is not far from the major cities of Eastern America including New York, which is an important market. According to SQ estimates, the Hells Angels enjoy a near-monopoly on drug trafficking in the province, which it controls between 95% and 100%.

Canada's Hells Angels are now the most powerful and the most aggressive, according to Peter Edwards: "Being a Hells Angel in Montreal is a tough job, but it also means winning a lot of money. The gathering this weekend is therefore particularly important for the organization, as it stands in its historic stronghold and reaffirms its hold on a central territory to its strategy.