TWO-YEAR, 25-COP PROBE YIELDS FIRST HELLS ANGELS CONVICTIONS

Two members of the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels were found
guilty yesterday of selling cocaine -- the fruit of two years' labour
by 25 cops and a year of work by federal prosecutors.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Anne Drennan said it was the first
time that members of the notorious biker gang had been convicted of a
serious crime in B.C.

"We're very pleased with the results," she said.

Ronaldo Lising and Francisco Batista Pires, both 37, were found guilty
of three of the five charges they faced together -- conspiring with
four other men to traffic in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and
possession of the proceeds of crime.

The B.C. Supreme Court jury found the pair not guilty of two other
charges -- trafficking cocaine and possession of money from the
proceeds of crime. Lising alone was convicted of two other counts --
possession of cocaine and ecstasy.

"Both are known to the police," said Drennan, "but not through any
criminal activity, just by their affiliation to the Hells Angels."

Neither Lising nor Pires had a criminal record but Drennan said both
were "full, colour-wearing members" of the Hells Angels.

The nine-woman, three-man jury, which began its deliberations Friday
morning after a four-day charge from the judge, were not told the
accused were Hells Angels until prosecutor Peter Hogg raised it
yesterday after the jury returned with its verdict.

Justice Kenneth Smith had banned the media from referring to the Hells
Angels while covering the trial.

Hogg praised the police for "fantastic" work on the case, which took
four months to prosecute because of the many arguments surrounding
search and seizure of evidence and admissibility of wiretaps.

The heart of the case involved a police agent, Robert Molsberry,
buying six ounces of cocaine from the pair worth $7,600.

That deal was conducted at Molsberry's apartment, but the jury also
heard evidence of drugs being sold to doormen at Vancouver strip clubs
and after-hours booze cans.

Hogg said Molsberry had been given a new identity and relocated
outside the Lower Mainland.

Hogg, who characterized Lising and Pires as "middle management" in the
illegal drug trade in Vancouver, told the judge he will be seeking
"penitentiary" sentences -- at least two years -- for the pair when
the sentencing hearing begins. Dates for the sentencing will be
determined next week. The maximum sentence for conspiracy to traffic
in cocaine is life in jail.

Drennan said senior officers will discuss the cost and importance of
the investigation at a press conference today.

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ANGELS THEY ARE NOT

Of the 30 known outlaw motorcycle gangs in Canada, the Hells Angels
are by far the most powerful and well organized.

Police reports indicate there are about 200 full-fledged members
nationwide who have struck deals with other criminal groups.

They are heavily involved in drug dealing.

The Hells Angels, which have seven B.C. chapters, have been active in
the province since the early 1970s.