Last man wanted in Hells Angels crackdown on Vancouver Island surrenders to police
Kristopher Smith, a 44-year-old man from Nanaimo, B.C., turned himself in to police over the weekend. (CFSEU-BC)
The fourth and final suspect wanted in connection with a drug-trafficking case targeting the Hells Angels on Vancouver Island has surrendered to police.
Kristopher Smith, a 44-year-old man from Nanaimo, B.C., turned himself in to police over the weekend.
Smith is charged with three drug offences and three weapons offences related to a years-long investigation that culminated in 41 charges approved against four men last month.
Over the course of the investigation, nearly two dozen guns and more than 13 kilograms of illegal drugs were seized, according to investigators.
William Karl Paulsen, 51, of Campbell River, B.C., and William Bradley Thompson, 58, of Ladysmith, B.C., had already been arrested when police announced the charges on Dec. 1.
A third man, 44-year-old Sean Oliver Douglas Kendall of Port Alberni, B.C, surrendered to police a few days later, while Smith remained at large.
British Columbia's Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says the crackdown and seizures helped prevent the expansion of the Hells Angels on Vancouver Island.
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 commercial-grade explosives. (CTV News)
The investigation began in June 2018 and targeted the Hells Angels in Nanaimo, as well as their support clubs, the Savages MC and the Devils Army MC. Police say the Hells Angels intended to expand their drug-running operations on Vancouver Island while also establishing new Hells Angels chapters beyond Nanaimo.
Among the weapons found were an Uzi, several shotguns, rifles, pistols and more than 4,500 rounds of ammunition. Investigators also seized six tubes of explosives typically used in mining.
The drugs seized included more than seven kilograms of cocaine, nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine and four kilograms of cannabis.
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