Vancouver Island residents charged in suspected drug-trafficking ring linked to Hells Angels

Federal prosecutors have approved two dozen drug-trafficking charges against six people from Vancouver Island with suspected ties to the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

British Columbia's anti-gang task force, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, opened an investigation into a suspected drug-trafficking network focused around the Comox Valley and Campbell River areas in January 2021.

Investigators executed simultaneous search warrants at four properties in the communities one year later, seizing approximately 3.5 kilograms of cocaine, several guns, $160,000 in cash and Hells Angels paraphernalia.

Six people were arrested in connection with the police raids.

On Thursday, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada approved multiple charges against Comox residents Jeff Scott Pasanen, 59; Shawna Lynne Leblanc, 48; and Peter Bruce Billie, 37. Also charged were Randall James King, 45, of Campbell River; Jonathan Erin Clifford, 41, of Courtenay; and Rhys Tyler Vernon Bolton, 34, of Victoria.

"We know small communities and areas outside the Lower Mainland are not immune to the negative effects of gangs and organized crime," CFSEU-BC Supt. Duncan Pound said in a statement following the arrests.

"These groups prey upon the most vulnerable through the sale of often deadly drugs and using fear and intimidation in order to advance their illicit enterprises," he added. "Working with our partners on Vancouver Island in a collaborative and coordinated effort is critical to ensuring that those who seek to put us and our communities at risk are held accountable."