THREE LOCAL HELLS ANGELS ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

The arrests occurred as members of the biker gang from across Canada were
gathering to celebrate in B.C.

Vancouver city police arrested three full members of the East End Hells
Angels on drug trafficking charges Thursday -- the first major bust in
years involving a B.C. chapter of the motorcycle club.

The arrests occurred while Hells Angels from across the country were
gathering on the Lower Mainland to celebrate the anniversary of a number of
B.C. chapters.

The three East End members -- Ronaldo Lising, Francisco (Chico) Pires and
George Pires -- were arrested in Vancouver and Burnaby on Thursday
afternoon by members of the police emergency response team.

Lising, 35, and Chico Pires, 35, both of Vancouver, face charges of
conspiring to traffic cocaine, cocaine trafficking and possessing the
proceeds of crime.

Lising has also been charged with possessing methylamphetamine --also known
as Ecstasy -- for the purpose of trafficking, while Pires and his
31-year-old brother, George, of Burnaby face charges of conspiring to
cultivate marijuana, cultivating marijuana, and possessing marijuana for
the purpose of trafficking.

Police also picked up three people described as Hells Angels' associates on
a variety of charges, and more arrests are expected.

The busts stemmed from a two-year investigation by members of the Vancouver
police outlaw motorcycle gang unit probing cocaine trafficking in the city.

Media liaison Detective Constable Richard Akin said the investigation --
code-named Project Nova -- involved thousands of hours of work by biker
gang detectives, as well as members of the department's strike force,
emergency response team and drug squad.

B.C.'s Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit, which was set up to fight
organized crime, was not involved in the project. The unit was rocked by
scandal earlier this year when one of its officers, an Asian crime expert,
was accused of leaking information to criminals.

The arrests Thursday, meanwhile, came after a public war of words between
police and Hells Angels over the past year. Law-enforcement officials
across Canada have been trying to generate support for the fight against
biker gangs, while the Hells Angels have continued to refute police claims
that its members are involved in criminal activity.

Last fall, Vancouver Hells Angel Rick Ciarniello pointed out that none of
the more than 90 members in the club's five B.C. chapters is currently in
prison.

Ciarniello declined to comment Thursday on either the arrests or the club's
anniversary celebrations.

``I don't know anything about what happened today,'' he said. ``And the
anniversary party is private.''

Police called the arrests significant, but would go no farther that that
for fear of jeopardizing the case.

``We're not trying to influence the outcome of this at all,'' Akin said.
``They've made statements that, `Well, if we're so bad, why aren't we in
jail?' That sort of thing.

``We're going to leave it up to the courts to decide and to answer that
question.''

The arrests began Wednesday night when police searched the Number 5 Orange
Hotel in the 200-block of Main Street and arrested a 21-year-old bouncer.

Dean Caine Munoz of Vancouver faces four counts of cocaine trafficking, two
counts of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and one count
of possessing the proceeds of crime.

Munoz is described by police as an associate of the Hells Angels.

Other associates charged include Alan Kokotailo of Surrey and Tony Deluca
of Vancouver.

Kokotailo, 28, has been charged with assault causing bodily harm.

Deluca, 30, faces charges of conspiring to cultivate marijuana, cultivating
marijuana and possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

The Vancouver police outlaw motorcycle gang unit is only a few years old.
But it began turning up the heat on Hells Angels members and their
associates more than a year ago, raiding alleged marijuana grow operations
across the Lower Mainland.

Police said the arrests were designed to interrupt the cash flow of Hells
Angels members, and target low-level associates who are producing the
income.

In many cases, police alleged, the marijuana was shipped to the U.S. and
exchanged directly for cocaine, which was then transported back to Canada.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)