Who are the Hells Angels, Lethbridge’s newest gang?
By Lethbridge Herald on July 17, 2024.
A man wearing a shirt with a Hells Angels patch walks along Mayor Magrath Drive as members of the notorious biker gang gathered in the city last weekend as part of efforts to open a chapter in Lethbridge.Justin Sibbet – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It has recently become common knowledge the Hells Angels have arrived in Lethbridge, bringing mixed reviews along with them.
Some on social media have said they are eager to see the outlaw biker gang on the streets of the city, but others have shared a less positive outlook.
Mike Tucker, a spokesperson for ALERT, says people need to understand the Hells Angels are not like the “Sons of Anarchy” TV series.
“This isn’t a TV show, this is real life,” said Tucker. “It looks a lot different.”
He says this is the first time the Hells Angels have opened a charter in Lethbridge, but the organization has deep roots in the area already.
“They have an extensive network of support clubs that are usually smaller, rural populations throughout Alberta,” said Tucker. “Support clubs kind of carry out the dirty work for the Hells Angels, which are the larger clubs.”
Furthermore, he says the gang openly flaunts its “one per cent” patches, which indicate they are of the one per cent of motorcyclists who “don’t conform to the rules and laws of society.”
“They are a criminal organization under Canadian law,” said Tucker.
For those who claim the Hells Angels are ‘the good guys’ for offering charity drives, Tucker says they are being misled.
“When they’re coming into Lethbridge and coming into a new territory, they’re going to do extensive (public relations) work to try to build support,” said Tucker. “So, yes, you’re going to see toy drives, poker rallies or whatever it is they do to try to endear themselves to the community, but that’s masking the societal harms that they’re inflicting upon that community.”
He says ALERT is fully aware of the crimes being committed by members of the Hells Angels throughout Alberta, which tend to include violence and drugs.
“ALERT has an extensive history of conducting Hells Angels investigations for a wide range of criminal activities.”
He also says the charitable events are a front for financing these criminal activities.
“A lot of this purported charity work that they’re doing, and you know, selling merchandise, that’s money that is going back to their criminal defence fund.”
Tucker says anyone buying from, and wearing, “Support 81” merchandise is “openly supporting a criminal organization.” He says prospective purchasers should think twice before buying gear from the gang.
“There are consequences for someone who wears (Hells Angels or Support 81 gear). In Alberta, there’s legislation under (section 69.1(1) of the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act) that you could be ejected from a bar or a licenced premises,” said Tucker. “And it could potentially put a target on yourself from other rival criminal organizations.”
Another negative aspect of the Hells Angels, according to Tucker, is the drug trafficking they bring into their claimed territory.
“Much has been made about they fentanyl crisis and in the early days of when we were seeing opioid abuse taking place across the province, it was directly tied to the bikers and their distribution of fentanyl in communities big and small.”
The outlaw gang was first established in California in 1948, according to a Hells Angels website. Today, the “Hells Angels Motorcycle Club” have 475 charters across the world
Tucker says the Hells Angels thrive off a visual presence, which is in contrast to many organized criminal groups.
“If you’re seeing bikers and you’re seeing the “death head” on the roadways and at festivals and bars, it doesn’t mean you’re in immediate danger, but it is their way of trying to exert control and influence over that community.”
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They are not ‘good ole boys’ who do teddy bear rides and purport to be against child abuse. Look at Vancouver DTES, Calgary, Edmonton, and other major cities at the carnage on the streets, the senseless loss of life, the destroyed families and the pain and suffering caused by the operations of the Hells Angles and other criminal organizations.
I walked around the show and shine and past the tents of the Hells Angels, next to BACA and one little 5 year old boy told what appeared to be his father that he was scared of the bikers at the Hells Angels booth, but his Dad knelt down and looked him in the eye and said, do be afraid, they are nice guys!
Really, nice guys??? “…Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution operations.
When you look at the over 45,000 Canadians who died from fatal overdoses last year, think about the drugs smuggled and drugs sold by the Hells Angels that killed many of those, while destroying thousands of families. They are involved in global drug operations! The human trafficking for prostitution/strip clubs and what those women have to deal with if they do not obey. They are merchandise! So those who think they are not doing anything bad by going to one of the girls on the street from sexual services, you are supporting organized crime, while supporting the beat downs and abuse these girls go through who are addicts and often die on the streets. That is what you JOHNS are supporting!
They are not a bunch of ‘good ole boys’! They are hardened criminals who earn huge revenues from criminal activities, while laundering money through many of their legal operations which include trucking companies, hotels/motels, construction companies, paving/cement companies, RV companies, and even professional organizations.
They are known to have councilors, judges, even members of legislature on their payroll and in a case many years ago, tried to force a Calgary councilor onto their payroll, but that ended with one of them being charged.
They often collaborate with the Asian Triads and Cartels. These are not nice guys! They have a lot of blood on their hands!
If you look back to 2019 when I posted numerous articles about the development and expansion of drugs. The “High point” of knowing you are farked culminated in the arrival of a specific biker gang.
The 200+ bikers that arrived last weekend was a show of power and a demonstration of whom is going to run the show in Lethbridge. So the wannabe’s have been put on notice. If the “wannabe”s” decide no “little biker gang” is going to be kicking them out of their turf ,then watch for a spike in violence as “the wannabe” tough guys are taught a lesson they will never forget.
Congratulations Lethbridge, you ignored everything I warned about and as a result, you now have got the attention of those who thrive on our situation and, we have now moved into the big leagues! A league that few achieve and none escape or recover from!
Moving addicts out of town would have been the smart easier choice years ago, now, try moving them and the biker gang at the sametime! Good Luck with that!
This was/is the point of no return I warned of continually! It was ignored, we have arrived!
canada has laws that are aimed at criminal gangs/organisations. however, they seem to hardly be enforced. be it biker gangs, mafia (italian, jewish…) and gangs coming from india and asian and african countries, let alone the likes those emerging from impoverished ghettos in the usa that also spill over into canada, our system seems to be spineless when it comes to violent/human traffic offenders. sure, they get the end user now and again, but hardly ever do they get to the nexus of any of this.
for that matter, there is also two sets of standards when applying the proceeds of crime laws. the typical criminal individual will surely have assets seized. but, if one is an oligarch, or we are talking about a powerful gang/big corp, like td band, hsbc bank, kpmg, a plethora of money laundering casinos…well, nothing is ever seized when they do their money laundering thing, or when assist with illegal off shore, tax evading operations. even our so-called most notorious organised gangs seem never to have much in the way of assets seized; incredibly, they move about with what pretty much amounts to get out of jail free cards. it is not like their meeting places are invisible.
no sir, a little bad press, some official words and a joke of a fine when it comes to big corp (where does that money end up…of course, cycled back to the corps via the many “legal” ways govts gives away the public purse to big corp and oligarchy). never any criminal outcomes or actual responsibility or deterrent. i suppose the many can look away and pretend this is not happening, but show me where this is fallacy.
now, in defence of those in charge of looking after integrity and safety in our country, perhaps it works simply as this: a couple nicely dressed big fellas enter your office to say hi. they have a couple envelopes. one has photos of your loved ones, and the other a wad of cash. one envelope strikes fear right into the heart; the other brings one into the fold, complicity. i suppose in such a situation one could turn to the cops, but one would have to suspect some of the same may have happened at the higher levels there, too.
we have, folks, a system that is difficult to trust. or at least to trust enough. we have a system that is hardly showing much effect in terms of putting a stop to organised crime, particularly around extortion and human traffic and tax evasion and money laundering. if extortion and coercion and corruption of our justice and economic systems is not present, then we can only ascertain that those in charge of these systems are merely incompetent. for me, that is the harder option to believe.
Being an international organization they have some very good defense lawyers on their payroll, including some who are patched.
They have had a presence in Lethbridge for years, Dean was the President in Lethbridge for several years and died from Hep C several years ago. They have used their support biker gangs to conduct their operations here for years.
Organized crime has had a major presence in Quebec for several decades partly because of the ports and basically own Quebec and now BC. The Cartels are increasing their presence as well, running Fentanyl for China or the precursors to make it into the US and Canada. China laughs as Canada weakens, taken all their young population who could be military combatants in the event of war by turning them into addicts. Payback for the opioid wars of China? Or just tactical strategy from lessons learned?
The opioid crisis has allowed the Hells Angels to increase most of the operations, growing and spreading into other regions. They use First Nations gangs and other groups to support their criminal activities.
Quebec, BC and many border First Nations communities have been corrupted by these organized criminals, which has been evident when seeing such bizarre policies by governments put in place that only throw fuel on the fire of this crisis.
How many charges against Hells Angels in Ontario and Quebec have been dismissed due to the courts? In Quebec in 2011, 31 Hells Angels drug cases were dropped.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/31-hells-angels-linked-drug-cases-dropped-in-que-1.1087912
The judicial, penal systems are a complete failure and the feds are doing nothing to change that. It is almost like they want Canada to sink completely into the abyss!
Yes, members have been here in Lethbridge for sometime. But you only get your “very own chapter” when the “Head Office” determines that the income stream is to lucrative to ignore. They ignored it for years, but most of the hard work was done for them. Churches and Social Services collect them in one area, and the volume of drugs can be easily observed.
When the income rises to a point where its best to move in and takeover, you know you have arrived on the world scene. In Halifax Dartmouth, the 13th Tribe thought they were the Head Honchos, they were soon shown they were not.
I have watched for years, the feet washers, slowly focus the profit in a small area which for a gang is an extremely labor intensive move, the Churches did it for them. For every action there is an equal and opposite/devestating reaction! The Social Services Groups should know that they wear this badge!
Once imbeded attempts to restore law and order are in direct opposition to their purpose in life, but I am sure everyone knew that when they opposed my stupid idea, right? So now things become more difficult for everyone, especially police.
With this “new message”,(200 bikers+) comes another need for 20+ more policeman once the existing backlog is filled. Not because they stay, but we have now risen into the bigger leagues. No need to run product across the border to Edmonton any longer. Run it directly to the new guys on the block. So once this milestone is reached you are always sucking hind mammary gland!
Once again, I say, if people had listened to my “stupid idea” or, if people had not been so closed minded, we would not be where we are today. Where we are today is just the start of the slide we are about to endure.
we are pretty much on the same page with this. maybe i sense far more corruption at the highest levels than many, and i also favour taking the ball away from illegal players. to the latter, that means legalisation, as had been done with liquor. that does not mean people have to use, and nor will they feel as much. just like liquor, gaming…people have a choice.
This is exactly why we need a safe supply of drugs in Canada. It takes away the illegal component and is a regulated supply that would eliminate the poisoned, preventative deaths that have only increased each year. The current statistics show that the Alberta Recovery model is NOT working, as deaths have only increased year after year.
You want to prevent criminal activity, take out the criminal element and stop people, with a health-related disease, from dying!
agreed. even if we have to rock bottom prices to the point of net loss, that is a far cheaper and safer alternative to enabling gangs to rake in massive profits; far cheaper than the utter enforcement failure, which costs us all in so many ways, such as incarceration, judicial, policing; far safer than the plethora of toxic substances that poison and cause overdosing due to unregulated products.
Maybe with the boost to the local economy a Harley Davidson Dealership will return to Lethbridge,
Hmm… Good news Harley Davidson bike shop – Bad news drugs, guns, violence, gang wars, prostitution and theft… think man, think
I bought a T-shirt online few days after the Street Wheelers event in Lethbridge. I don’t even live in Alberta. And now I discovered that I’m a criminal (?) according to someone: even defamation is a crime, just saying. I’ve never seen a Hells Angel in person in my all life, since that event. I saw a group of them near the Travel Lodge from 100 mt far. And I screamed inside the car “HELLS ANGELS! A BUNCH OF THEM!”. Pretty much as I was a kid at the zoo seeing for the first time some tigers.
I read a lot of books about them, mostly the Ralph Barger’s ones, saw movies, interviews on YouTube, etc…For me they are like a legendary creature belong to the American history, like far west cowboys. A culture. Symbols. The incarnation of “freedom”, “the American dream”, Route 66, Easy Riders…these kind of stuff, at least in the mind of someone like me who comes from overseas and grew up watching American movies. Now.
I’m Italian and I know what’s a criminal organization is and how it operates in the territory (Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta, NCO, etc…) and the difference in between a criminal organization and a gang and a street gang. I lived years in Mexico too. No, the motor club Hells Angels is not a criminal organization, not a gang and not a street gang. It’s a club that doesn’t function like that. It’s different in many ways. As a paradox, I should even affirm that they should actually take inspiration from some better run organizations, such as the mentioned above ‘Ndrangheta (or Freemasonry or the Church or WEF that are indeed run very similar to a criminal organization, instead: affiliation rituals, omertà, secrecy, deception, connections, their own Justice system, etc…). I’m pretty sure that Cullen Commission has the same clear idea about. That’s why the only who paid the fees were HA (three clubs confiscated!), but not David Seedo, his sons, all the Chinese and Indian developers, cleaning money, covered up by the government and local banks.
I’m pretty sure Lethbridge Herald and Calgary Herald know too, considering how many lawsuits Postmedia and Glacier Group have each year when they don’t pay taxes and CRA is at their door constantly.
Police know too: law enforcement and politicians have, combined, more average number of criminals per year in Canada that the HA motor club. Instead taking pictures to HA around Lethbridge, what about taking selfies? The probability to catch on camera a criminal is higher in a police station or town office or newspaper headquarter than around a stand of T-shirts. I understand that a society needs “the bad guys” to sell to the public opinion but this house of cards felt down long time ago. It doesn’t work anymore. Being accused publicly on a newspaper by law enforcement to be a “criminal” for buying T-shirts from a stand on a public place in front of thousands of people during a public event full of police taking pictures of HA (without arresting them???)…well, I’m disappointing (not offended: it takes more to offend me). A judge in a courtroom would have an internal bleeding for laughing at the prosecutor.
There’s enough material to sue journalists and police’s spokesmen. Why do they take pictures of people in motorbikes with licence plates, patches, club address, social media accounts, etc…who almost have their SIN numbers tattooed on their forehead?
What about ‘ndranghetisti or Freemasons…who don’t “patch-up”?
And I’m a criminal for buying a T-shirt?
C’mon, folks…put your stuff together.
There are also policemen and HA working together: what about them? For sure there are some HA who commit crimes, but as motor club, do you think they are so stupid and naïve that criminal plans (if any) get shared with everybody in the club? The majority of bikers don’t know anything about other members side activities. There are mums and pas with kids who show up for a BBQ in the weekends: wtf should they know what some member maybe are doing in another town, province, country, continent?! Criminals should be hunted person by person, in a state of law. They are people, not grapes. Same for “bad apples” in mass media, politics, police, etc…If I buy a copy of Lethbridge Herald, am I a criminal because Glacier Group don’t pay taxes (=steal public money)?
If some developers go to play golf together on a Sunday morning to discuss about put on fire a hill so the next year they can build on it, all the members of the golf club get arrested and the golf club confiscated?
Funny thing: I haven’t received the T-shirt yet! LOL