More arrests made in million dollar drug bust

 

Police have made four more arrests in the major drug operation called Project Deplete, a long-term investigation by the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force. More than 80 officers made arrests and seized more than a million dollars worth of drugs on Friday. A total of 13 people were charged and seven people were arrested at that time, said police. On Monday, they announced four more arrests: Kareem Martin, 31, Dane Sawatzky, 27, Mark Beitz, 31, and Dalton Miller, 21. On Tuesday, RCMP said Elmer John Deato, 26, had also been taken into custody.  A warrant for arrest remains in effect for David Thomas, 29, of Winnipeg, Manitoba for weapons trafficking and other offences.  Those taken into custody Friday include: William Lauren Bowden, Joshua James Lyons, Chi Hong Do, Christopher Lea Murrell, Pardeep Kapoor, Joshua Robert Charney, all of Winnipeg and Ramsey Yaggey of Edmonton. "We've had a lot of success in the last while with the Hell's Angels, taking them off the street, the Zig Zag Crew and others," said Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill on Friday. "When that happens quite often there is a void left open and there is people jockeying for position." On Friday officers seized: 6,912 grams of cocaine, 465 grams of crack cocaine, 272 grams of methamphetamine, 9,811 ecstasy tablets, 1,063 grams of MDMA, 501 oxycodone tablets and 891 grams of marihuana. A number of the accused made an appearance in court Monday, including Hell's Angel member Billy Bowden, who was charged with three counts of trafficking cocaine and two counts of possessing the proceeds of a crime. Many of the accused have been remanded to March 14. Some of their lawyers expressed their intention to seek bail in the meantime. Project Deplete began in August and focuses on high level independent drug traffickers in Winnipeg and around the province. Officers from the Winnipeg Police Service, RCMP and Brandon Police Service participated in Friday's bust.

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Accused wants to play soccer with witness

 

A MAN accused of orchestrating a $3.7 million fraud ring that allegedly involved a Hells Angels bikie boss wants his bail conditions varied so he can play soccer. Adam Eli Meyer, a husband and father, defrauded or attempted to defraud legitimate businesses of property, luxury cars, a yacht and excavation equipment, police allege. Meyer, 37, appeared today in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with 12 fraud offences and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime. A number of the offences allegedly involved Felix Lyle, the president of the Sydney chapter of the Hells Angels, who has also been charged over the alleged fraud ring. Meyer is on bail with a $250,000 surety bond from his father. Counsel for Meyer applied today to have his bail conditions varied so he could play soccer for a Balmain team. The court heard that Meyer plays on the right wing and a prosecution witness plays left wing for the same team. His bail conditions prohibit him from approaching any witnesses in the case but Meyer's counsel assured the court he would not discuss the matter if he and the witness did engage in random conversation. The witness has provided a statement to police that a tax statement in his name is fraudulent, the court heard. Thomas Spohr, from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, opposed the bail variance, saying it could result in "contamination of evidence". The matter was adjourned before determination because Meyer's father was not present to consent to the bail variation. Meyer, Lyle and four co-accused will appear in the same court on April 10, when Meyer will have an opportunity again to have his bail conditions varied. Court documents allege a string of alleged fraud offences spanning from September 2010 to early this year. Police say Meyer provided false business and tax documents from a dummy company, BRZ Investments Pty Ltd, in attempts to obtain financing to purchase high-value items. Four Caterpillar excavators worth $940,000, a Regal Commodore yacht worth $325,000 and a $1.2 million Alexandria property were on the wish list. Other items included four Harley Davidson motorcycles, three Lexus cars, two Mercedes, two Toyotas and a number of computers.

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TWO southside members of the Odins Warriors Outlaw Motorcycle Gang have been charged with firearm and drug offences

TWO southside members of the Odins Warriors Outlaw Motorcycle Gang have been charged with firearm and drug offences after police raided two industrial sheds in Boniface St, Archerfield, last week.

Police said a 58-year-old member of the Odins Warriors, of Algester, who owned the building, allegedly declared a shotgun to police.

Police allegedly found an amount of of methylamphetamine, a double barrel shotgun, a revolver and a .22 calibre rifle. More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were also located.

Police searched a second building occupied by a 53-year-old member of the Odins Warriors, from Archerfield, and allegedly located an amount of methylamphetamine and cash.

The 58-year-old man was charged with possessing a dangerous drug, possessing firearms, possessing ammunition and possessing tainted property.

The 53-year-old man was charged with possess dangerous drug.

Both men are scheduled to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on February 16.

The operation was conducted by police from State Crime Operations Command's Firearms Investigation Team along with detectives from Task Force Hydra, the State Drug Investigation Unit and the Vehicle Crime Unit.

Customs and Border Protection also assisted with their firearms and explosive detector dogs.

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Amsterdam Hells Angels leave clubhouse

 

The Amsterdam chapter of the Hells Angels motor club have left their clubhouse at the H.J.E. Wenckebachweg. The club handed over the keys to the building to city officials at 1030 on Monday morning. A wrecking machine arrived immediately afterward to demolish Angel Place later on Monday. The clubhouse on the H.J.E. Wenckebachweg was home to the Hells Angels for more than 40 years. The city council wanted to redevelop the area and initiated an expropriation procedure. However, the judge ordered the council to pay the Amsterdam Hells Angels 400,000 euros in compensation. It is not yet known if and where they will open a new clubhouse. Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan has said he will do anything in his power to prevent the motor club from finding a new place in the capital. He added that Amsterdam is willing to help nearby municipalities bar the Hells Angels following their expulsion. Many of the neighbouring municipalities are concerned the Hells Angels may move into their area. The motor club is suspected of organised crime including drugs trafficking and blackmailing restaurants and cafés. The town of Diemen has already announced the Hells Angels are not welcome there. Daniël Uneputty Unu will resign as president of the Amsterdam Hells Angels on Monday. He said the name of his successor is already known internally, but that the person in question will himself announce his appointment when he is ready to do so.

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Alleged biker hitman dies in cell

 

The man police believe killed the gangster who helped set up the now-defunct Halifax Hells Angels is dead.   The body of Jeffrey Albert Lynds was discovered in a Montreal jail cell, where the 43-year-old was on trial for a 2010 double murder in Quebec.   It is believed that the former member of the elite Hells Angels group the Nomads, committed suicide.   Police would not confirm the identity, but Sgt. Claude Denis of the Surete du Quebec told thechronicleherald.ca that a 43-year old man was found dead in his cell at Riviere des Prairies Detention Centre.   "He was found without life inside the (cell). We do not have any violence mark on the victim."   Sources told the Montreal Gazette the deceased is Lynds.   Denis said  police were called to Riviere des Pariries detention centre just after noon Friday. An autopsy is scheduled on Monday.   A former member of the Halifax Hells Angels, Lynds was named in court documents as the killer of Randy Mersereau whose body was discovered in a wooded lot in North River, outside Truro, in Dec. 2010.   He was never charged in Mersereau's death.   After cofounding the Halifax chapter of the outlaw biker gang, Mersereau left in the 1990s to set up his own drug operation.   He disappeared Oct. 31,1999, not long after a bomb exploded at a used-car dealership in Bible Hill that injured several people. Mersereau is believed to have been the target of that Sept. 23 bombing.   A year later, in Sept. 2000, Randy's brother, Kirk Mersereau, 48, and Kirk's common-law wife Nancy Christensen, 47, were also shot dead in their rural Hants County home.   In their book, The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangs are Conquering Canada, journalists William Marsden and Julian Sher write that Kirk put a $50,000 bounty on the head of anyone connected to his brother's murder.   Police have charged Dean David Whynott of Truro Heights and Gerald MacCabe of Salmon River both with being an accessory after the fact in Randy Mersereau's murder.   Court documents filed in connection with MacCabe's case point to Lynds as Randy's killer. News reports in 2010 said Lynds admitted shooting Randy five times with a handgun provided by the Hells Angels.   Lynd's nephew, 34-year-old Curtis Blair Lynds, was charged with accessory after the fact in Randy Mersereau's death, and first-degree murder in the deaths of Kirk Mersereau and Christensen.   Leslie Douglas Greenwood, 41, is also accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of the couple.   Curtis Lynds and Greenwood are in jail, awaiting court appearances.   Michael John Lawrence, 37, from Windsor has already pleaded guilty - and is serving a life sentence - for shooting the couple, as well as Charles Maddison, a man who offered him a drive and whose truck he stole before committing the double homicide.   Jeffrey Lynds was picked up during a series of raids that targeted the Halifax Hells Angels chapter in 2001 and was eventually sentenced to three years in jail.   In Montreal, Lynds was accused in the shooting deaths of two men, Kirk Murray and Anthony Onesi, as they sat inside a car at a McDonald's parking lot in Jan. 2010. He was also facing charges in the Feb. 2010 shooting of another Quebec man, Mark Stewart.

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Bikie dispute leads to car park shooting

 

dispute between Comanchero motorcycle gang members led to a shooting in Adelaide's west on Monday night, police believe. Two shots were fired in the car park of the Findon Hotel about 10:00pm (ACDT). Detective Inspector Paul Yeomans says two men were arguing in the car park before one of them fired the shots at a dark-coloured sedan. "We don't think this is a random attack," he said. "We think that the two males are known to each other. We do think, even though it's early in the investigation, we do think it is linked to outlaw motorcycle gangs, in particular the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang." The cars sped-off after the shooting and police have not said why they suspect Comanchero members. The shooting is the latest instance of bikie-related violence in the past two months. But Attorney-General John Rau insists the situation is not out of control. "There are always going to be lunatics who go out there and break the law as these people have done and when they're caught up with the law will deal with them," he said. There is no sign anyone was injured in the incident.

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Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police

 

Two reputed Rock Machine biker gang associates were nabbed by police just prior to a search of a St. Andrews home that netted drugs, ammunition and gang paraphernalia. Police said at about 3 p.m. Friday, Shane Allen Fischer, 31, and Nicole Joy Nykorak, 26, were arrested during a traffic stop at Highway 8 and Grassmere Road. The stop came about two hours prior to police executing two search warrants at the same alleged drug house on Lockport Road as part of a ongoing street crime investigation, police said Sunday. Police seized nearly $10,000 worth of cocaine and hash, along with coke-cutting agent, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, a bullet-proof vest and gang attire, Const. Jason Michalyshen said. The seizure of the armoured vest is significant, as it may prove to become the first test of provincial legislation that came into force Jan. 1 outlawing their use by the general public without a permit. Anyone unauthorized to have body armour and is caught with it faces a fine of up to $10,000, three months in jail or both. Michalyshen said he was unaware of any other pending arrests in the case. Fischer was out on bail at the time and was supposed to be living elsewhere, said police. Nykorak was out on statutory release from prison and is facing parole revocation, Michalyshen said. Police didn’t identify the gang involved, but said it was an outlaw motorcycle group. A police source said both have ties to the Rock Machine gang. Both suspects face “numerous” drug and weapons charges, police said. They are being held at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

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Accused bikie killer arrives back in Sydney

 

The man accused of shooting a bikie dead in Sydney's south earlier this month was flown back to the city last night from Western Australia. Tarek Abdallah was escorted on a flight from Perth after his arrest in the city's north last week. The 25-year-old spent last night in a police cell and is due to face Central Local Court today charged with murder and shooting with intent to murder. Lone Wolf bikie Neal Todorovski was fatally shot in the head outside his Sans Souci apartment on January 4. Police say the 37-year-old and two of his friends had confronted and bashed Abdallah. Abdallah allegedly broke free and fired at his attackers before escaping in a black four-wheel drive. Mr Todorovski's friends, 32-year-old John Leger and 23-year-old Matthew Lewis have each been charged with affray and concealing an indictable offence over their refusal to cooperate with police. Leger is also charged with possessing a prohibited weapon.

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Sydney police investigate drive-by shooting

 

Police say they are yet to determine the exact target of a drive-by shooting in Sydney's south-west, the eighth shooting since last Monday. Officers responded to reports of a shooting on Pelman Avenue in Greenacre about 4.20am today. A search of the area found six spent cartridges on the street but no damage to property. Acting Deputy Commissioner Alan Clarke says it is too early to say whether the incident is linked to recent shootings. "As we've been unable to establish a victim at this point in time, we'll go on the ballistic evidence before us and continue to conduct a canvas in that area and see if we can get to the bottom of this shooting," he said. He says the recent shootings seem to be targeting criminal networks. "Our biggest concern is the threat and the risk there is to innocent members of the public," he said. "As we've indicated continuously, this appears to be an intimidation tactic between criminal networks, and our fear is it is indicative of guns on the street. "We certainly wouldn't want an innocent member of the public to be caught up in one of these situations." Hannin Adra, who lives nearby, says she is worried. "I've got six grandkids - do you like your grandkids to grow up in this atmosphere?" she said. "It is a worry - if it's not a worry, you're not human." Neighbour Mounzer Adra says he heard five shots on the usually quiet street. "I woke up about 4.15, I hear the shooting, I wake up, I say, 'oh my God, what's happening? I thought it was a firecracker," he said. "It's not good feeling unsafe in this area, where the shooting is; something should be done about it." There have now been eight shootings in Sydney's west and south-west since last Monday night, and police have set up Operation Spartan to investigate the spate. There were two shootings in Yennora and Lakemba on Thursday night and one at Yagoona on Friday morning; no-one was injured in either of those incidents. Premier Barry O'Farrell has said he will consider new laws to compel people to speak to police about the shootings, but dismissed a call from the Opposition to recall Parliament to pass new anti-bikie legislation.

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A Lone Wolf's golden farewell

 

A WAILING mother speaks to her dead son. ''Stand up and say hello to your guests,'' she urges him, apparently unwilling to accept he is dead. But he is the man in the coffin - the $42,000 gold-plated coffin, paid for in cash by his bikie mates. This was the funeral yesterday for the Lone Wolf member Neal Todorovski, who was shot in the head on January 4 during a shoot-out in Sans Souci, southern Sydney, the first death from a succession of gun attacks across Sydney. Mr Todorovski, 37, had been armed with a gun that day. And the congregation at St Nikola Macedonian Orthodox Church in Cabramatta, south-western Sydney, yesterday included many men associated with outlaw bike gangs. But police fear innocent bystanders will be the next victims of the spike in shootings. They worry more deaths will follow as disputes spiral into tit-for-tat shootings, some related, some not. A senior Lone Wolf told The Sun-Herald the Todorovski shooting was not a turf war but over ''something petty and silly''. He said: ''I'm not sure what's wrong with the world. To die like this over nothing is just stupid.'' Many bikies at the Todorovski service were visibly distraught, weeping, hugging each other. They included Finks and Comanchero members. A Lone Wolf said an arrest in Perth over the shooting followed the police interception of a telephone conversation. Detective Wayne Hayes, acting commander of the gang squad, said the Lone Wolf gang had eight chapters in NSW with about 96 members. The Todorovski killing ''had nothing indicating expansion'' into new territory, he said. Strike Force Lobbe - one of four strike forces investigating the Sydney shootings - identified a Maroubra man, 25-year-old Tarek Abdallah, as the suspect in the Todorovski shooting. Mr Abdallah faced a Perth court on Friday and is expected to be extradited to NSW this week. Mr Todorovski had been armed with a pistol when he left his flat with two friends, Matthew Edward Lewis, 23, and John Haper Leger, 32, to meet Mr Abdallah in front of his four-wheel-drive. In court police alleged a scuffle broke out and Mr Abdallah managed to pull a handgun from his car and shoot Mr Todorovski in the head. They allege Mr Lewis and Mr Leger refused to co-operate and arrested the pair for concealing an indictable offence and possessing a prohibited weapon.

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