April 10, 2006

Turf War to our north

This past weekend, eight bodies were found in some vehicles in rural Ontario. Today's Globe and Mail has the back-story:
Biker gangs' feuds leave bloody trail
Turf wars between rivals have killed club members and innocent bystanders

In the aftermath of the discovery of eight bodies in rural Ontario this weekend, police sources have pointed to outlaw biker gangs, a criminal element with a bloody history in Canada.

During the 1990s, about 160 people died during the decade-long turf war in Quebec between the Hells Angels and a smaller biker club called the Rock Machine.

The Hells Angels wanted absolute control over the distribution of illegal drugs in the Montreal area. From 1994 to 2001, the Rock Machine fought furiously to keep its share of the market, and scores died as hostilities spread through Quebec.

When the turf war peaked during the mid-1990s, it was being won by the Hells Angels, who had greater resources and systematically killed off their rivals one by one.

The largest mass killing occurred in September, 1995, when the Rock Machine tried to plant a bomb at the clubhouse of a Hells Angels-affiliated gang. They were spotted and their bomb went off, killing three Rock Machine supporters.

While most casualties of the biker war were criminals, they also included two prison guards and an 11-year-old boy who was hit by shrapnel from a car bomb in August, 1995. The death of young Daniel Desrochers and the outrage that followed prompted Bill C-95, legislation that stiffened penalties for convicted offenders who are shown to be members of established criminal organizations.

Then, in the fall of 2000, facing public outrage over the growing death toll and the shooting of reporter Michel Auger, the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine announced a ceasefire in their war.

It was short-lived.

Within weeks, the Rock Machine obtained probationary membership in a major gang, the Bandidos -- historical rivals of the Hells.
What makes this of interest is that the Bandido's started in Bellingham and we have at least two of them in our small community (although I know that one of these two is currently in Federal lockup). Nice neighbors... We know some people who live fairly close to the USA/Canadian border and they see people running "packages" across all the time. Posted by DaveH at April 10, 2006 8:38 PM
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