After 10-years of court proceedings, the Supreme Court of Canada has officially denied the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, who are known to engage in gang activity, in their efforts to reclaim three properties.
Three Angel Acres Recreation and Festival Property Ltd. (Hells Angels) clubhouses were forfeited to the government through the Civil Forfeiture Act (CFA) on the grounds that the clubhouses were assumed to likely be used in future unlawful activity.
The three clubhouses were located in Nanaimo, East Vancouver and Kelowna.
Following these properties being seized and taken over, the Hells Angels sought to get their properties back in a long and arduous court battle.
Initially, when the forfeiture case went to trial, the judge found that the Director of Civil Forfeiture could not prove that the properties would be used for illegal activities so he dismissed the forfeiture on the properties.
Following this, the Attorney General appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada on the grounds that the trial judge had made an error in his judgement.
The Supreme Court found that the trial judge erred specifically in his interpretation of the phrase, “property that is likely to be used to engage in unlawful activity.”
In addition to this, it was found that he erred in several aspects of his fact-finding process related to the evidence found at the three clubhouses.
“Today, after more than 10 years of legal proceedings, the Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear an appeal from the Hells Angels in British Columbia regarding the forfeiture of three clubhouses in Nanaimo, East Vancouver and Kelowna,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
“This decision confirms that the tools we use to combat organized crime are constitutional and put criminals on notice.
My message to those involved in organized crime: We will continue to go after your clubhouses, expensive cars, front businesses and luxury goods. You will not profit from any crime you commit in British Columbia.”
Now, the BC government is the rightful owner of these properties and will move to liquidate these properties and they say they will use the proceeds to support victims of crime.
