Spain: Hells Angels Busted For Smuggling 1,100 Pounds of Cocaine

Published: 16 September 2013

By

Spanish National Police have arrested four men connected with the Canadian Hells Angels motorcycle gang for allegedly smuggling 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of cocaine into Spain, the Interior Ministry announced on Saturday.

Police arrested the men in a cafe near the coastal city of Pontevedra.  One suspect brought the cocaine on a yacht from Colombia to Spain where the other three met him, according to The Vancouver Sun.

The men were identified as Jason Cyrus Arkinstall, Chad John Wilson, Scott Smitna, and Michael Dryborough.  Police said Arkinstall and Wilson are members of the gang from the Mission and Haney chapters in British Columbia respectively, while Smitna and Dryborough are gang associates.

Authorities raided two vans and seized the cocaine in addition to vehicles and encrypted smartphones.

The suspects had been under observation since July 30.  Spanish police collaborated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, EUROPOL, French tax authorities, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  Arkinstall had previously served an 18-month sentence in Canada for cocaine trafficking.

Wilson was previously arrested in Spain in 2009 for being an alien in possession of a firearm, for which he served a four-year prison sentence in the United States.

The Hells Angels motorcycle gang has been active since its founding in California in 1948.  The gang has become the largest bike gang in the world with chapters spanning several continents. Some members have been arrested for criminal activities including murder and drug trafficking.