Lawyer denies connection between biker clubs
SASKATOON — A lawyer for the Saskatoon chapter of the Hells Angels says there is no connection between the biker clubs targeted in a massive police investigation into guns and drugs.
“The police are trying to link the Fallen Saints and the Hells Angels. No. Not there,” Morris Bodnar said outside provincial court on Tuesday.
One of Bodnar’s clients is an alleged member of the Hells Angels who was arrested during a series of high profile police raids last week. Police say Robert Allen has trafficked cocaine at least twice.
On Tuesday, he was let out on $10,000 bail.
Police say Allen is a fullpatch member of the Hells Angels. The Hells Angels clubhouse and the Fallen Saints clubhouse were both targeted by police in the early morning hours of Jan 15.
The 15-month investigation, dubbed Project Forseti, spanned seven cities in Saskatchewan and Alberta and netted huge volumes of drugs and numerous firearms.
The drugs — including massive quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin — were valued at more than $8 million.
Bodnar previously admitted Allen was a Hells Angels member; however, outside court on Tuesday, he said all facts in the case are “disputed” and he does not yet have full disclosure of the Crown’s evidence.
Earlier this week, court heard the Fallen Saints had at least 44 members.
Police have called it a “puppet club” that sold drugs for the more powerful and infamous Hells Angels. Bodnar directly challenged those allegations. He has represented the Hells Angels for years, but he hadn’t even heard of the Fallen Saints until last week’s busts, he said.
The alleged leader of the Fallen Saints, Mark Nowakowski, was set free on bail last week, while another alleged member, Armand Houjnet, was remanded until his next scheduled court date on Jan 22.
While Nowakowski owns a landscaping company, Houjnet is the owner of two rural gun stores — Badger Arms Supply and Nipawin Gun and Tackle in Nipawin — both of which were raided during the police operation.
Police confirmed that more than two-thirds of the nearly 200 guns seized by police came from those stores.
Another Fallen Saints member arrested in last week’s raids, Justin Smith, appeared in court as well and was remanded in custody pending a Feb. 3 court date.
Smith is charged with trafficking cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, failing to comply with conditions, aggravated assault and weapons trafficking.
All of the suspects released on bail have been ordered to have no contact with any other members of the Hells Angels or the Fallen Saints. They were also ordered to surrender their passports.