Gangs step in, drug trade flourishing in city

Tb News Source
Web Posted: 4/24/2008 2:44:13 PM

Even with the diminished presence of the Hell’s Angels in the city, the drug trade in Thunder Bay is still a very lucrative business.

Their demise has caused a dramatic shift in the drug trade according to city police who say the seizure of the local clubhouse and numerous arrests in the past couple of years means the motorcycle gang is no longer the major player in the local drug scene. Street gangs are becoming more organized to sell narcotics and are beginning to take over the role, to fill the demand.

Police officials say Thunder Bay is a major hub for drug activity in the region and police spokesman Chris Adams said Project Husky and the seizure of the Hell's Angels clubhouse had a major impact but he says new players are entering the trade.

"That's the thing about drugs. If you look at them as a business, and certainly they follow a lot of the standard business models, anytime there's a void as far as someone supplying, someone else will step in. It's an opportunistic criminal activity. And in the community, we know we have a significant issue with the growth of street gangs. Well, the street gangs are there as well to make money.’’

''Everything has to come through Thunder Bay at some point,’’ he said.

Adams estimates there is 90 to 100 people in the city who are members or are linked to street gangs that originate mainly from Manitoba and include the Native Syndicate, the Indian Posse and the Manitoba Warriors.

The District Health Unit's Superior Points Harm Reduction program deals with distribution and recovery of drug-related products such as needles and program manager Don Young can’t confirm the shift in who is plying the trade, but he does say the number of users is on the upswing.

‘’Well, there has certainly been an increase in high-risk drug use among, some of our most impoverished and vulnerable populations. There's almost a tie or correlation between increases in property , loss of jobs, and loss of prospects, people self-medicating and getting involved in higher-risk drug us,.’’ he said.

Adams says the police service's Integrated Regional Gang Unit addresses these issues and is always trying to be ahead of the game to put an end to this crime. He said while they may be able to eliminate some drug activity by the larger gangs there will always be other groups ready to fill the gap.