BIKER CAN BE EXTRADITED - JUDGE

MONTREAL -- A judge ruled yesterday that cop-turned-biker Guy Lepage can be
extradited to the United States to face drug charges which could land him in
jail for life.

Lepage, who is in his mid-50s, is expected to stand trial in U.S. district
court in Miami on one count each of conspiracy to import and conspiracy to
traffic in cocaine.

Lepage will be held in Montreal pending his extradition. He can file an
appeal until June 2, when he's expected to be handed over to U.S.
authorities.

His lawyer, Benoit Cliche, said an appeal is not likely since his client did
not contest the extradition order.

Lepage faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted on the two
counts. He could also be fined up to $4 million US.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Rejean Paul said there is sufficient evidence
linking Lepage to a Hells Angels drug ring that allegedly moved cocaine into
Quebec from Colombia via Miami and New York.

"The evidence, as presented in documents from the U.S. State Department,
seems overwhelming," Paul said as Lepage looked on blankly from the
prisoner's box.

The judge noted that police in Quebec seized documents naming Lepage as the
point man between the Hells Angels and Colombian drug dealers.

A police informant is expected to testify that Lepage visited Colombia 10
times between 1997 and 2001 to organize five shipments of cocaine destined
by boat for Miami and New York.

According to court documents, U.S. customs agents seized $2.5 million in
cash at the Canadian border that was earmarked by the Hells Angels to pay
for the drug shipments.

Lepage, who was arrested last Dec. 18, is a former Montreal police officer
and an ex-chauffeur for Hells Angels kingpin Maurice (Mom) Boucher.

Also in Montreal, the jury in Boucher's double-murder trial ended their
eighth day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

The eight men and four women have been attempting to decide whether Boucher
did, as the Crown contends, order the deaths of two prison guards in 1997.

Boucher faces two charges of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of
Diane Lavigne and Pierre Rondeau during two separate attacks.