Vancouver Island men facing 41 charges in 'significant' crackdown on Hells Angels in B.C.

Four men are facing dozens of charges after a years-long drug-trafficking investigation that police say disrupted the expansion of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang on Vancouver Island.

Four men are facing dozens of charges after a years-long drug-trafficking investigation that police say disrupted the expansion of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang on Vancouver Island.

The federal prosecution service has approved 41 criminal charges related to the investigation.

On Thursday, British Columbia's Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-BC) announced that an investigation that began in June 2018 and targeted members of the Hells Angels in Nanaimo, B.C., as well as their support clubs – the Savages MC and the Devils Army MC – had led to charges against the men.

Police seized 22 weapons over the course of the investigation, including an Uzi, as well as more than 4,500 rounds of ammunition and five tubes of explosives typically used in mining.

Investigators also recovered more than seven kilograms of cocaine, nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine and four kilograms of cannabis, the CFSEU-BC said.

Police said the Hells Angels intended to expand their drug-running operations on Vancouver Island while also establishing new Hells Angels chapters beyond Nanaimo.

William Bradley Thompson, 58, from Ladysmith, B.C., faces 10 weapons charges and one drug-related charge. He was arrested and released pending a court appearance, police said in a release Thursday.