Mayor was unaware of Hells Angels’ clubhouse
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he had no idea that the Hells Angels had opened a clubhouse in his city, even after a pledge from police several years ago that the biker gang would not be allowed to set up there. McCallum, who was elected in October, said on Monday that the Hells Angels are “not welcome” in Surrey.
After a service this past Saturday for murdered Hells Angel Chad Wilson, his fellow bikers gathered at the Angels’ Hardside chapter clubhouse, which is on a small acreage near 180th Street and 96th Avenue.
Officers from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, Surrey RCMP, Vancouver Police Department and other RCMP detachments monitored both the Maple Ridge funeral and the afterparty, both of which Postmedia reported on. Wilson had moved over to the Hardside chapter when it opened on March 17, 2017. He had previously been a member of the Haney Hells Angels and the “Dago” chapter based in San Diego.
The clubhouse is believed to have opened sometime in 2018, five years after former top Surrey Mountie Bill Fordy pledged to block another Hells Angels chapter from using Surrey as its base.
McCallum echoed that sentiment in a statement to Postmedia on Monday. “Hells Angels are not welcome in Surrey. I was unaware that a clubhouse had been set up here recently,” McCallum said.
“I will be addressing this matter immediately with the officer in charge of Surrey RCMP.”
That officer, Asst. Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, said Monday that his officers are well aware of the clubhouse.
“The police and the City of Surrey were made aware of the Hells Angels intention to set up a clubhouse in 2017 and, at that time, the city and the police collectively reviewed all legal means to keep this clubhouse out of Surrey,” McDonald said in a statement Monday. “However, the police have no legal authority to deny someone from purchasing or renting a residence.”
He said he agreed with McCallum that the Hells Angels are not welcome in Surrey “and that we will use every lawful means to ensure that their members are not participating in any criminal activity in this city.”
He said both Surrey RCMP and officers with the anti-gang CFSEU “have regular contact with members of the Hardside chapter to ensure they understand our expectations regarding public safety.”
In January 2013, Fordy said he met with the president of the West Point Hells Angels chapter to tell him not to establish a clubhouse in Surrey. West Point started in 2012 and was expected to base itself in Surrey.
The Hardside chapter appears to be in a rented house, which is located on two acres of property zoned agricultural.
The property, assessed this year at just $47,000 because it is farmland, is owned by a Delta couple that has no apparent association with the Hells Angels.