Canada - ~Forfeiture proceedings for Hells Angels clubhouse begin this month~
WELLAND - The Hells Angels clubhouse on Darby Rd. has been frozen under the Civil Remedies Act and will soon go through the process of civil forfeiture.
The act is a piece of legislation which allows a civil court, at the request of the attorney general's ministry, to freeze, take possession of and forfeit property acquired through or likely to be used for unlawful activity.
"This (clubhouse) in Welland is frozen," said ministry spokesman Brendan Crawley. "The next step is to proceed to forfeiture."
When officers went in to seize the Hells Angels Niagara complex last month, officers were seen moving video surveillance cameras to face up, as this file photo shows, while they took hold of the property.
MAGGIE RIOPELLE/Staff Photo
Niagara Regional Police seized the clubhouse June 1 and it has been frozen pending the completion of the civil forfeiture proceedings.
On July 14, the matter will go to court in Toronto to set a date to begin those proceedings. Crawley said the process can take "a number of months" to be resolved.
Ministry Civil Remedies for Illicit Activities Office lawyers bring proceedings to court on behalf of the attorney general. If lawyers can prove that property in question is a proceed or an instrument of unlawful activity, the court can issue orders forfeiting the property to the Crown. Civil forfeiture proceedings are not dependent on any criminal charges or convictions, as stated on the ministry website, www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca.
If it is a successful forfeiture, the clubhouse property will be liquidated. The cash would go into a Civil Remedies Act special purpose account. Funds are dispersed to direct victims of unlawful activity, for cost recovery to the Crown, as well as for grants and programs to assist victims and help prevent victimization.
Law enforcement agencies can apply for grants.
Recently, the Peterborough-Lakefield Community Police Service was awarded a grant of $79,300 for cameras, computers and other equipment to help in its fight against organized crime and drugs.
"These funds are going directly to tools that will help police prevent drug crime in Peterborough and in communities across Ontario," Attorney General Chris Bentley said in a news release at the time. "We are taking whatever measures are necessary to keep families and communities safe."
Through the CRIA office, since November 2003 a total $10.8 million in property has been forfeited. The province also has approximately $40 million in property that is frozen.
Under the Civil Remedies Act, the attorney general has been able to award the Crown two biker clubhouses in Oshawa and Thunder Bay, and has frozen biker clubhouses also in St. Catharines, London, Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Catharines, Toronto pending forfeiture proceedings.
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