For the first time in nearly 25 years, the Hells Angels are ready to cede control of several of their drug sales territories to drug trafficking gangs, both in Montreal and Quebec, in order to conclude a truce in the violent conflict which has been raging in this environment for almost two years.
Members in good standing of the biker group at the head of the Quebec drug market for more than two decades have themselves informed of this change of situation to police officers specializing in the fight against organized crime, including those of the Sûreté du Quebec, our Bureau of Investigation learned.
Only way out
“This is the only way to stop this war,” told us a police source well aware of the decision that the Hells have just taken to put an end to the hostilities which first broke out in the region of the National Capital, at the beginning of 2023, before expanding elsewhere in Quebec.
Several dozen members in good standing of the Hells Angels and their supporting clubs participated in the traditional First Run, their first motorcycle outing of the year, from May 3 to 5, in Saint-Denis-de-Brompton, in Estrie. . MAXIME DELAND/AGENCE QMI Photo Agence QMI, Maxime Deland
The Hells notably made offers concerning drug sales territories located north of the city of Montreal as well as in Montérégie.
The identity of the gangs and independent traffickers involved in these negotiations, as well as the nature of the offers submitted, remain secret for the moment.
Refusal of “Pic” Turmel
But all the parties involved would still be far from reaching an agreement. This is the case of the gang at the origin of this war.
Last winter, the BFM (Blood Family Mafia), led by the young exiled kingpin Dave “Pic” Turmel, sharply rejected a first attempt to settle the Hells.
Kingpin Dave “Pic” Turmel appears in a video by hip-hop artist Mizery. Screenshot from Youtube channel DmanyakTV COURTESY Screenshot taken from YOUTUBE, DMANYAKTV
In February 2023, Mario “Banana” Auger, an influential member of the Hells of the Quebec chapter since 1998, went to Europe, where Turmel is hiding from the Quebec police who are looking for him, to make him a proposition.
According to our sources, the bikers’ offer included:
- Control of the narcotics market in the areas of Charlesbourg, a district of Quebec City, and the territory of Lévis, on the South Shore.
- An exemption from paying the Hells 10% royalties on drug sales – commonly called the “tax” – that bikers have imposed on all traffickers in this environment since at least 2015 but that several gangs now refuse to pay.
- The consent of the Hells to “forget” the alleged theft of 28 kg of cocaine (worth a total of one and a half million dollars) committed at their expense at the beginning of 2023, which they attribute to the Turmel group and which would have launched hostilities.
Turmel would have responded cavalierly by laughing in Auger’s face and advising him to leave immediately if he did not want to end up “in pieces”.
Mario Auger, member in good standing of the Hells Angels of the Quebec chapter, in 2020. Photo Courtesy
Shortly after his return to Quebec, Auger also escaped a kidnapping attempt by the BFM.
$250,000 for a boss
Since these incidents, it is unknown whether the Hells have made a new offer to the gang of “Pic” Turmel, nor to that of one of its main allies, the boss All Boivin. This 34-year-old trafficker is also fighting for control of the drug market in Hells but in his region, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
Trafficker All Boivin is escorted by police officers at the Saguenay courthouse, in March 2019. Archive photo
Boivin and his partner Yaulise Lemieux-Bellavance, 26, are also hiding from the police who suspect them of living under assumed identities.
The authorities have promised a record reward of $250,000 to anyone who helps them capture Boivin, who has been hunted since February 2023.
The Bolo Program increased its reward for information leading to the arrest of All Boivin from $100,000 to $250,000 on October 8, 2024. The announced bounty was still $100,000 at the time this photo was taken . Photo ÉRIC-YVAN LEMAY, VINCENT DESBIENS
Agreement with the Rizzuto clan
The last time the Hells Angels formally negotiated significant drug sales territories with other organized crime groups was with the Rizzuto clan 24 and a half years ago.
On June 21, 2000, in a Laval restaurant, Hells from the Nomads chapter and representatives of the dominant clan of the Montreal mafia concluded an agreement under which they would control the supply, distribution and current price of cocaine in Montreal.
The bikers then committed to letting the Italian mafia control certain territories, including Saint-Léonard, Ahuntsic and Rivière-des-Prairies.
Bikers fear for their families
A veteran of the “angels of hell” admitted to police that the unprecedented violence that characterizes the current drug war made him fear for the safety of his children and his family.
Such an admission from a Hells Angels, who has nevertheless seen others and whose fears are probably shared by several of his comrades, would not be unrelated to their recent openness to negotiate with other gangs involved in this lucrative illicit trade , according to sources from our Investigation Office.
The fact that the Quebec representatives of the largest criminal biker gang in the world are resigned to extending an olive branch to their adversaries may seem surprising.
This is the same gang that chased the Outlaws motorcycle group from Quebec with attacks in the 1980s.
The Hells then overthrew the Rock Machine at the end of a murderous war which left more than 160 dead in the province, between 1994 and 2002.
In this photo, we see the former leader of the Hells Angels, Maurice “Mom” Boucher, near the coffin of his friend and Hells member of the Nomads chapter, Normand “Biff” Hamel, killed on April 17, 2000 in Laval, during the biker war. PHOTO CHANTAL POIRIER, THE ARCHIVES In this photo, we see the ex-leader of the Hells Angels, Maurice “Mom” Boucher, near the coffin of his friend and Hells member of the Nomads chapter, Normand “Biff” Hamel, killed on the 17th April 2000 in Laval, during the biker war. PHOTO CHANTAL POIRIER, THE ARCHIVES PHOTO ARCHIVES, CHANTAL POIRIER
With a few exceptions, the Hells all spent several years behind bars for their role in this biker war.
But the current conflict is very different from previous ones and gives rise to scenes never seen in the past.
Courtesy (add source)
Torture and mutilation on video
Last winter, video recordings of torture sessions perpetrated by BFM commandos were sent to Hells in Quebec in order to intimidate them.
On videos obtained by our Bureau of Investigation, the heavily armed attackers filmed themselves mutilating their victims with a knife or a blowtorch, in addition to making them say that everything was “the fault” of the Hells.
Last summer, prison authorities suspended the parole of Hells Bernard Plourde, who controls the drug market in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, and brought him back to the penitentiary for his own safety.
Hells Angels Bernard Plourde during his arrest in 2020 in Saguenay. PHOTO ROGER GAGNON/AGENCE QMI Archive photo, ROGER GAGNON
Plourde’s life would be threatened by the clan of trafficker All Boivin, who uses the same intimidation techniques as the BFM.
Teenagers recruited
This outbreak of violence reached another level in mid-September when the police discovered the lifeless body of a 14-year-old teenager near the Hells’ hideout in Frampton, in Beauce.
Police believe that young Mohamed-Yanis Seghouani, originally from Montreal, died during an attack on the bikers’ premises.
Mohamed-Yanis Seghouani, 14, was found dead near the hideout of the Hells Angels school club in Frampton, on September 16, 2024. AK-47 type weapons were found in a charred car, not far from the discovery of the body. Photos QMI Agency and courtesy
He was accompanied by another minor and their firearms, AK-47 type, were found inside a charred vehicle.
The deceased teenager was affiliated with a street gang linked to Arab Power, a Montreal criminal organization which aims to become a big player in the narcotics market.
“It’s disgusting,” the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, commented with annoyance.
