At least one alleged B.C. Hells Angel and others are facing multiple drug trafficking and conspiracy charges for offences said to have taken place in Vancouver, Maple Ridge and Vernon between September 2020 and July 2021.
Vancouver provincial court information sworn Dec. 6 shows six men have been charged. Two appeared in court Dec. 7 for bail hearings. At least one was released.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC) 12 search warrants were executed at locations throughout Metro Vancouver and the Okanagan.
Police seized about $650,000.00 in Canadian currency and approximately two kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of MDMA, one kilogram of fentanyl, 200 grams of ketamine, 10 kilograms marijuana and16 kilograms of drug-cutting agent.
Also seized were - three rifles, a shotgun, three prohibited magazines, ammunition, body armour, two vehicles and a cocaine press. Inside one residence, police seized a Hells Angels Motorcycle Club vest and various items of Hells Angels support clothing.
“This investigation resulted in the seizure of potentially deadly drugs, firearms, and disruption of a sophisticated drug trafficking operation securing a number of significant criminal charges,” said assistant commissioner Manny Mann, CFSEU-BC chief officer.
Jonathan Louis Lutar, 39, is charged with being part of a criminal organization that includes Allan Beatima Arcangel, 51, Matthew Shaw, 31, David Oppenheim and others. Court documents show he instructed people to engage in drug trafficking for the benefit of the organization.
Lutar, Courtenay James Lafreneiere, 41, Arcangel, Shaw, Oppenheim and others are charged with trafficking at the direction or for the benefit of the organization made up of any three of Lutar, Arcangel, Shaw, Oppenheim and others.
Lutar, Lafreniere, Arcangel, Shaw and Oakley Lain Charest, 34, are charged with conspiring together to traffic in controlled drugs.
Lutar, Lafreniere, Arcangel, Shaw and Charest are charged with trafficking in fentanyl, carfentanil and cocaine. Court documents show Lutar and Shaw are charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
Charest is charged with having a Ruger 45 calibre P90 gun with readily accessible ammunition. In connection to a July 5 incident in Vernon, he also allegedly possessed a Walther P38 handgun and five firearms magazines without a licence. He's also charged with allegedly possessing the guns while prohibited from doing so.
CFSEU-BC also mentioned two men not on the court document. Roman Tassone, 28, is charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking while Lukas Tassone, 34, faces one count of the same charge.
CFSEU-BC said arrest warrants have been issued for both Roman and Lukas Tassone. T
The other five have been arrested and released on conditions as the court process begins.
CFSEU-BC has announced several cases going to charges in the past few weeks.
On Dec. 1, it said criminal charges have been approved against four alleged drug traffickers linked to the Hells Angels on Vancouver Island.
The 41 charges stem from a CFSEU-BC investigation that began in 2018. It resulted in the seizure of 22 firearms and about 13 kilograms of illegal drugs.
Two days before, CFSEU-BC announced that more than a dozen men, from Jan. 8 to May 31, 2021, were part of a group that instructed others to traffic in carfentanil, fentanyl, methamphetamine and/or cocaine in Vancouver.
They and others are allegedly associated with the Wolfpack criminal gang and were allegedly involved in the drug trade in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the anti-gang agency said.
