MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police revoked 11 licences to possess and acquire firearms from people police say are connected to the Hells Angels motorcycle club.
It is the second phase of an operation from the Surete du Quebec’s organized crime division (DRCO) in collaboration with the SQ’s firearms and explosives control department (BCAFE).
Seven applications for firearm possession permits were also denied in an eligibility program aimed at limiting access to firearms by people linked to organized crime, the SQ said in a news release Friday.
The Hells Angels have re-established an evolving presence in Atlantic Canada, although experts say they have not expanded their roster of full-patch members since first re-appearing in the region two years ago. Members of the Hells Angels arrive for a national gathering in Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Que., on Friday, August 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The first phase in 2018 targeted 97 motorcycle club members that support the Hells Angels.
That phase resulted in 75 firearms possession and acquisition permits being revoked and 14 pending applications being denied.
“This large-scale project is a first in Canada in the context of gun control and shows members of support groups that their allegiance to organized crime has a direct impact on their privilege to have a possession and acquisition licence for firearms,” the SQ said in its release.
