Police increase presence as hundreds of Hells Angels members descend on Surrey

Police will be out in full force over the next few days as hundreds of Hells Angels members from across the country descend on Surrey, BC.The outlaw motorcycle gangsters arrived in town Thursday to attend a memorial service for longtime Lower Mainland-based member Ricky Ciarniello, but will be around all weekend.Ciarniello passed away in March at the age of 80. He had long been the face of the group in BC.."Extra police will be on throughout the weekend around the entire region," Surrey Police Service Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton told reporters outside Aria Banquet & Convention Centre near King George Blvd. and 120th St, "not just to monitor and make sure everyone stays safe, but we also know from past incidents that Hells Angels members and some of their support club members are both perpetrators and attractors of violence."He noted that in BC, there are "many full-patch Hells Angels members in jail for crimes as serious as murder," and that countless others have had serious charges laid against them."Police will be on force over the weekend making sure everyone stays safe," Houghton reiterated..According to Houghton, around 1,500 people showed up to the banquet hall shortly before noon. He noted that while the vast majority were affiliated with the Hells Angels, Ciarniello's family and friends were also in attendance..The procession of motorcycles began in Coquitlam and snaked their way down to Surrey..Numerous roads were closed as police maintained order..Houghton said police will seize the opportunity to gather intelligence on Hells Angels members. "These events are important to police not just in terms of seeing who's attending, but it's really important for us to see who's associating with each other," he explained. "Affiliations in the outlaw motorcycle gang world are really important for police to see who's being supported by who."Houghton went on to note that police will be watching out to see which support clubs have been "elevated" in the outlaw motorcycle gang world from a one-piece patch to a two or even three-piece patch, a promotion that can only happen with the support of the Hells Angels.