In Canada, Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, often referred to as a "1%" Club, include infamous names like the Hells Angels, The Outlaws, Bandidos.

The Hells Angels are reported to have over 450 chapters across almost 60 countries around the world – many of those are in Canada.

According to Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the RCMP, Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, are involved in a range of illicit markets – fraud, counterfeiting, money laundering, extortion, corruption, drug trafficking, illicit firearms trafficking, violence and murder.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, Canada has very high levels of resilience to organized crime, with a score of 7.21 out of 10 – placing it 23rd globally.

On the other side of the coin, Canada has low levels of criminality – with 3.88 out of 10 – sitting 160th out of 193 countries.

The Criminal Actor score is 3.9 out of 10, BUT mafia style groups is the highest form of criminal actor at 5/10, and outlaw motorcycle gangs are the most widespread in Canada, with Nova Scotia of particular interest due to its port of entry for illegal drugs.

In this episode, Thin sits down with Conor King, from the Victoria Police Department to discuss the role of outlaw motorcycle clubs in the illicit economies of Canada.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speaker(s): Conor King, Detective Inspector, Victoria Police Department, Canada

Links

Canada Country Profile

The Global Organized Crime Index

Washington Post - Iran turns to Hells Angels and other criminal gangs to target critics

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime