Halifax police arrest Hells Angels member in 'significant hit' to biker gang

CTV Atlantic: Hells Angels member charged A member of the Hells Angels has been arrested and charged following a raid of a Cole Harbour home. CTV’s Ron Shaw reports.

HALIFAX -- Police say they believe organizing efforts by the Hells Angels in Nova Scotia have taken a "significant hit" with the arrest of an alleged member in a drug raid.

David James Bishop, 35, was arrested along with two women at a home in the Halifax suburb of Cole Harbour last Wednesday. All three now face a string of drug and firearms-related charges.

"His (Bishop's) role within the organization is significant, especially here for the London-East chapter out of Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S.," said RCMP Cpl. Mike Kerr of the combined forces special enforcement unit in Halifax.

"He comes with an outlaw motorcycle gang background and he's got a history of drug trafficking and violence, therefore I'm quite confident that we delivered a blow to the local Hells Angels here in Nova Scotia."

Bishop -- who police had previously described as having ties to the Bacchus motorcycle gang -- was taken into custody and appeared in Dartmouth provincial court on Wednesday.

Two women, Jacquelyne Anna Brophy, 33, and Sara Michelle Walker, 28, were released and are to appear in court Aug. 30.

Police said they found a large quantity of drugs along with outlaw motorcycle gang-related paraphernalia, firearms and ammunition in the raid. Kerr said the search warrant was obtained after police investigators received information from sources.

The lengthy list of charges against the trio includes trafficking in cocaine, ecstasy, and cannabis resin, and two counts of possession of a loaded restricted firearm. Bishop is also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm while prohibited.

Kerr described Bishop as a "hangaround" member, which is one of the steps in becoming a full-patch member of the Hells Angels.

"The whole process can take anywhere from three to five years ... but for all intent and purposes he is a member of the Hells Angels."

Police have been warning over the last few years that Canada's most notorious biker gang has been trying to reassert its influence over the Atlantic region drug trade, after the former Halifax chapter was smashed by law enforcement in 2001.

The Angels have since set up a number of affiliate or so-called "puppet clubs" in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Last year, the affiliate club in Musquodoboit Harbour outside Halifax threw a high profile "welcome home" event attended by as many as 150 bikers.

Kerr said the club started off with 16 members -- three from the Darksiders and 13 from the Gatekeepers clubs.

"That number dwindled down to a dozen or so," said Kerr.