Red and white banners reading 鈥淎FFA鈥� for 鈥淎ngels Forever, Forever Angels鈥� greeted arrivals at the White Rock chapter of the Hells Angles at their Langley clubhouse on Saturday.
They were there to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the club in B.C.
While none were willing to be interviewed, one Hells Angels member could be heard explaining the event marked the date a B.C. biker club joined the Hells Angels.
鈥淭hat was the day we patched over from Satan鈥檚 Angels,鈥� he said.
Police officers and vehicles lined the road outside the clubhouse, including officers from Langley RCMP, Delta Police, Alberta law enforcement and the anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unite (CFSEU).
Earlier, CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton had said it was 鈥渨ell documented鈥� that many Hells Angels, members of their supporting outlaw motorcycle gangs, and friends and associates, were involved in 鈥渟ignificant levels of criminal activity, including trafficking potentially deadly fentanyl and violent offences like assaults and homicide.鈥�
On the day, Houghton was among the police keeping a watchful eye on the Langley clubhouse.
鈥淲e have police officers from around the country to make sure that the motoring public and the community stay safe,鈥� Houghton said.
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Many of the attendees were not arriving on motorcycles, Houghton explained.
鈥淢any of them are taking cabs. They鈥檝e got their own shuttle system. They鈥檝e learned from having done this many, many times across the country that it doesn鈥檛 work really well when you have a lot of police officers watching for things like drinking and driving and motorcycle infractions,鈥� Houghton told the Langley Advance Times.
鈥淪o they鈥檝e taken a page out of the safety book and they鈥檒l be shuttling in and making sure that they get to and from their party safe today.鈥�
While the clubhouse itself is located behind high fences, tall bushes and a sliding gate covered with a material to prevent viewing, when it was opened up to allow arrivals to enter, several outdoor tents could be seen inside on the grounds, and a live band could be heard warming up.
More images can be viewed online at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.
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