HELLS ANGELS' COCAINE-TRAFFICKING TRIAL TO BEGIN NEXT NOVEMBER

Major Issue Will Be Whether Club Is A Criminal Organization

A Hells Angels member and two associates of the club have had their
cocaine-trafficking trial set for November next year.

David Francis Giles, a full-patch member of the Vancouver East End
chapter of the motorcycle gang, and David Roger Revell and Richard
Andrew Rempel, both associates of the club, appeared briefly in B.C.
Supreme Court yesterday.

Federal prosecutor Martha Devlin told B.C. Supreme Court Associate
Chief Justice Patrick Dohm that a previous plan to start the trial in
September 2006 was no longer possible due to the unavailability of
defence lawyers.

Asked by the judge how long the trial will take, she said the "most
recent, rough guess" was four to six months.

A major issue at the trial will be whether the Hells Angels are
deemed a criminal organization.

The judge set the start of the trial for Nov. 14, 2006.

There are a total of six indictments, five federal and one
provincial, against the East End chapter of the Angels arising from a
crackdown in June.

Other accused in the case are expected to appear next on Nov. 28.

Giles, 56, Revell, 41, and Rempel, 22, are charged with possession of
cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and commission of an offence
in association with a criminal organization.

Giles and Revell have been released on bail, while Rempel remains in custody.