Canadian Hells Angels held in Greece

VANCOUVER • Dozens of Canadian Hells Angels took their death head-emblazoned vests to Greece this month for an international biker parade and convention.

More than 2,000 members from the 500 international chapters descended on Athens for the annual gathering.

The only trouble was the near fatal-assault of a Greek man, which led to the arrest of three Alberta full-patch Hells Angels last week.

They remain in custody after appearing in court last Friday. The 41-year-old victim is on life support.

The Canadian government is providing consular services, spokesman Françcis Lasalle said without identifying the people involved.

“We are aware of reports of Canadian citizens detained in Greece. Canadian officials are in contact with the individuals and providing consular assist- ance as required,” Lasalle said in an email.

“Due to the Privacy Act, further details on this case cannot be released.”

Mike Tucker of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team said two of the Hells Angels arrested are from the Westridge chapter in Edmonton; the other is from the Nomads, which is based in Red Deer.

Ontario Provincial Police Det.-Staff Sgt. Len Isnor said it’s not known yet what char- ges the three Canadians may face.

“All I know it was an assault. How that assault took place, I couldn’t tell you,” said Isnor, the leading Canadian expert on the Hells Angels.

He said he has been liaising with his European counterparts about the world gathering and the involvement of Canadian Hells Angels.

“We speak back and forth. We knew everything that was going on,” he said.

Isnor said the “world run” happens once a year and includes a procession in which bikers ride their Harleys through the street with their country’s logo on their backs.

But don’t expect the world run to be held anywhere in Canada or the U.S.

Canadian immigration law “doesn’t allow any members of a criminal organization into Canada, so they can’t have a world run in Canada,” Isnor said.

“They can’t have a world run any longer in the United States also because they also created a law similar to what we have in Canada.”