RCMP Project Forseti nets Hells Angel and new charges
RCMP say suspects face organized crime charges
RCMP are now alleging that members of the Fallen Saints motorcycle club arrested earlier this year in its Project Forseti bust were operating as a criminal organization.
To that end, seven men are now facing criminal organization charges.
Officers also netted a guilty plea from a full-patch member of the Hells Angels in Red Deer, Alta.
Terry Eide pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking and weapons possession. He was sentenced to eight years.
These charges are significant.- RCMP Inspector Donovan Fisher.
Project Forseti is a two-year-old integrated police investigation based in Saskatoon that has resulted in hundreds of charges, and has pulled drugs and guns off the streets.
A little over a week ago, RCMP said, they closed that net on seven suspects who now face dozens of charges related to drug trafficking for a criminal organization.
"These charges are significant as they include individuals who are not only responsible for the activities of an organized crime group, but those who are actively recruiting new members to organized crime," said RCMP Insp. Donovan Fisher.
Police also deployed undercover agents and intercepted communications as they worked to build a case against Terry Eide, a man who is known to be a member of the Hells Angels, a notorious motorcycle gang known for taking a leading role in organized crime in Canada.
In a news release today, RCMP described their case against Eide as "strong" and suggested it helped lead to a guilty plea in a Red Deer court earlier this month. Eide is heading to prison for eight years and faces a lifetime weapons ban for pleading guilty to drug and weapons charges.
Project Forseti haul as of March 2015
- 5.4 kilograms of methamphetamine.
- 2.6 kilograms of cocaine.
- 3,358 fentanyl pills (counterfeit oxycontin).
- 107 grams of heroin.
- 65 kilograms of marihuana.
- 456 dilaudid pills.
- 454 grams of cannabis resin (hash).
- approximately $100,000 currency as proceeds of crime.
- seven vehicles as offence related property.
- approximately 200 firearms including prohibited and restricted firearms.
- tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition.
- four ballistic vests.
- one conducted energy weapon.