A notorious clubhouse once owned by the Hells Angels in Nanaimo, B.C., is slated to be demolished on Wednesday.
The demolition, announced in a media release by Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, concludes a decade-long legal battle between the outlaw biker club and the province.
Farnworth said the properties had been used to “co-ordinate criminal activities.”
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their communities and the forfeiture of these properties is a significant step forward in putting organized crime on notice in British Columbia,” Farnworth said in a statement.
“This important result today is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved, from the brave undercover and anti-gang officers and the police agencies who referred their case files to the Civil Forfeiture Office and tirelessly contributed their expertise and support to see this case through to its conclusion.”
The province seized three Hells Angels clubhouses, one in Nanaimo, one in Kelowna and one in East Vancouver, in April.
That move came after a B.C. Supreme Court ruling in favor of B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office, which has the power to seize personal or real property determined to be the proceeds of crime or used in the commission of a criminal offence through the civil court system.
The Hells Angels unsuccessfully tried to appeal the decision to both the B.C. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
In October, it was revealed the province was putting the three seized properties up for sale.
In Wednesday’s statement, the Farnworth said the seizures were “only the beginning” of a crackdown on organized crime, touting new Unexplained Wealth Orders as a tool to pursue “ill-gotten gains.”
Those orders, announced in March, require people suspected of unlawful activity to explain how they acquired assets valuing more than $75,000.This important result today is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved, from the brave undercover and anti-gang officers and the police agencies who referred their case files to the Civil Forfeiture Office and tirelessly contributed their expertise and support to see this case through to its conclusion.
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