More details released in crackdown on Hells Angels

CTV Edmonton: Evidence seized in Hells Angels Alberta police units are showing off their trophies following an unprecedented bust on the Hells Angels this week.

ALERT investigators displayed results from a coordinated crackdown on a high-profile motorcycle gang, and released more details on their investigation.

On Wednesday morning, officers with ALERT, RCMP and the Edmonton Police Service executed ten search warrants in the capital region – ALERT said Friday that the warrants lead to the seizure of two handguns, 26 pounds of marijuana, and 19 vests.

The next day, ALERT said a total of six members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang – the gang at the centre of the investigation – had been arrested and are facing organized crime charges.

“They’re involved in things like drug trafficking, there could be human trafficking, gun trafficking, mortgage frauds,” ALERT Insp. Darcy Strang said Friday. “Anything that makes money.”

ALERT said it’s the first time members of the gang have been charged with organized crime in Alberta.

The accused include Darcy Lee, 38, Troy Pawluk, 43, Eduardo Bartolozzi, 34, and Dustin Lowry, 35, all from Edmonton, Dominic Depalma, 33, from Strathcona County, and Roy Radies, 50, from Acheson, have all been charged.

In addition, ALERT said Friday that a seventh individual, a woman, was also charged in connection to the raids – but she wasn’t listed in the initial release, police said, because she’s not a member of the Hells Angels.

Police believe the bust has made a dent in the Hells Angels Westridge Chapter – as that clubhouse was one of the ten locations searched Wednesday.

The entire investigation was sparked after a clash in Drayton Valley in February, involving Hells Angels and a rival gang called The Warlock.

However, Insp. Strang said investigators were not allowed to search one item on that property – a white trailer – as officers didn’t have a warrant to search it.

CTV News cameras later recorded the trailer in question being towed away – Strang admitted that trailer might’ve yielded more evidence.

“I wasn’t at the scene, so I don’t know what happened in relation to the timing and such, again we had over 200 people involved in this and most everyone was busy,” Strang said.

The six men arrested as part of the investigation were expected to appear in court Friday afternoon.

With files from Dan Grummett