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Angel Linked To Grow-Op
Pubdate: Sun, 22 May 2005
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Province
Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Ethan Baron
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?188 (Outlaw Bikers)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
ANGEL LINKED TO GROW-OP
Kelowna Bust: Investigators Say It's Proof Of Biker's Illegal Activity
A Kelowna-area marijuana grow-op bust provides one of the strongest links
yet between the Hells Angels and the illegal pot industry, police say.
RCMP raided a rural home belonging to full-patch member Bruce Skreptak
early this month and discovered a large grow-op.
"This is a pretty good indicator of their direct involvement at the very
ground level in the . . . marijuana trade," said Insp. Andy Richards of the
Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C., a multi-force agency
targeting organized crime.
"We don't often see links this strong. Typically, most members of the Hells
Angels that are involved in the grow industry are several steps removed
from the hands-on business, especially from the grow houses."
Kelowna RCMP entered the home May 9 and seized more than 1,000 "clones,"
which are clipped from potent, high-producing mother plants.
"They basically get the same strain of plant," said Kelowna RCMP Const. Pat
Mulhall. "They would either use those to supply grows that they have in
existence or sell them to other people who are growing pot."
Police made a second arrest Tuesday after first arresting a 39-year-old
woman during the raid of the Highway 33 home.
That house belongs to Skreptak and Ann Hurry, B.C. property records show.
Skreptak is a full-patch member of Vancouver's East End Hells Angels chapter.
In addition to 1,100 clones, police found 100 mother plants. The operation
would produce thousands of plants a year, Mulhall said.
A door leading into the mother-plant room had a sticker on it reading,
"Support Your Local Hells Angels White Rock." Such stickers are commonly
used to "serve as a warning or intimidation," Mulhall said.
The woman arrested during the raid was released without charges. On
Tuesday, a man turned himself in to police in relation to the bust and was
arrested.
Police expect charges will be laid against the woman and the man, who is
not a Hells Angel.
Skreptak's house was assessed at $299,000 this year. Property records show
he and Hurry also own a home valued at $181,500 in Oyama, north of Kelowna,
which is listed as their address.
Skreptak told police he didn't know about the illegal activity in the
Kelowna home, Mulhall said.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello said Skreptak was renting out the house.
"Anybody else that rents a house to somebody who uses it for an illegal
purpose becomes a victim, except Hells Angels. They become just another
accused," Ciarniello said.
"It just doesn't make sense for the amount of scrutiny that the Hells
Angels get to be involved in a blatant thing like a grow-op," Ciarniello
said. "Quite frankly, it would be insane for anybody that's a member of the
Hells Angels to permit something like that to happen."
Skreptak's truck, with a Hells Angels sticker on it, was parked at the home
when police raided it.
"Any reasonable person can draw some conclusions from that," Richards said.
Police didn't arrest Skreptak and have no immediate plans to do so, Mulhall
said.
Skreptak's fellow Hells Angels will likely see the grow-op as a sign of
carelessness, Richards said.
"Most of them are a lot smarter than this would appear to indicate,"
Richards said. "He'll be looked at with a somewhat jaundiced eye by other,
more sophisticated members of the club."
Three additional East End Hells Angels members live in the Kelowna area and
have established a clubhouse in the north end of the city.
"They're pretty heavily entrenched in the community," Mulhall said.
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