Members of a Red Deer outlaw motorcycle club have been charged with drug trafficking offences following a lengthy police investigation called Project Rocker.
The two-year probe looked into suspected drug trafficking activities in the Red Deer area by the Syndicate outlaw motorcycle club. Syndicate is a support club of the Hells Angels.
Two Syndicate members and one associate face charges.
“Support clubs are typically used to carry out lower-level dirty work for the Hell’s Angels. There are a number of support clubs spread throughout the province and there are six Hells Angels clubs currently operating in Alberta,” said Insp. Sean Boser of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams at a press conference at the downtown Red Deer RCMP detachment.
He said police allege that the status of Casey Chapin, one of the Syndicate members charged, was expanding. He was prospecting for the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels based in Red Deer.
Project Rocker wrapped up on April 30 and an estimated $350,000 worth of drugs was seized, along with firearms, motorcycles and cash.
Three Red Deer homes were searched.
“As you can see, based on the seizures here, and just the impact it has on the individuals that were part of this group and on the community of Red Deer as well too, I think it’s a significant impact,” Boser said.
Chapin, 33, and Joel Befus, 32, both full-patch members of the support club, were charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, along with a range of other offences.
Bailey Chapin, a 29-year-old woman, was charged with possession of the proceeds of crime and five firearms-related offences.
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