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Zig Zags Zapped: UnderCover Op Busts Gangland Dope Ring.
By admin | October 27, 2004
The Winnipeg Sun
By Cary Castagna (Police Reporter)
October 27, 2004.
It was an undercover operation that shares the name of a Shakespearean tragedy and it has an unhappy ending for nearly three dozen Hells Angels underlings. Winnipeg police have arrested 35 people — consisting of an undisclosed combination of Zig Zag Crew members and gang associates — following an extensive 10-month investigation called Othello.
The arrests, which were made Friday during a series of 14 city-wide raids, “put a significant dent in the drug-distribution operations” of the Zig Zag Crew — the puppet club of the Hells Angels, Sgt. Cam Baldwin said yesterday.
During the busts, police seized 1.75 kilograms of cocaine, 14 pounds of marijuana, 150 marijuana plants from grow operations and a small amount of methamphetamine and ecstasy.
The drugs have an estimated street value of more than $285,000.
Officers also confiscated $250,000 in Canadian currency and $7,000 US, along with a house and two vehicles.
“Drug distribution is so widespread in the city that there’s always people who are involved in the industry to take the place of the ones that have been arrested,” said Baldwin, who heads the Winnipeg police organized crime unit. “But I do think that this one particular drug cell that we have targeted within the Zig Zag organization will be seriously compromised by it, and it will take them awhile to re-establish themselves.”
SUCCESSFUL
Baldwin said he wasn’t sure why Winnipeg police brass decided to call the operation “Othello” but calls the project successful.
“I think that it was very successful. When you target mid-level drug dealers, it is very, very difficult. An awful lot of effort went into this and a lot of dedication by our officers,” he added.
“As we know, cocaine fuels the organized crime world, and the revenues that some of these people are profiting are very significant. This project has served as a flagship for our department as to how we intend to target these individuals in the future as well.”
The city’s underworld cocaine trade generates an estimated $5 million monthly, Baldwin said.
Police believe the drugs they seized were supplied by local members of the Hells Angels.
“In every project, we hope to work our way up to the top,” Baldwin said. “Sometimes the top level of organized crime is so far removed from the day-to-day activities that it’s very difficult to reach that.”
Police wouldn’t say what residences or businesses were raided because they don’t want to jeopardize the ongoing investigation.
Of the 35 people arrested, “two or three” were female, said Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Bob Johnson.
Most of the suspects face charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana and cocaine or conspiracy to traffic marijuana and cocaine, Johnson said.
Police wouldn’t release the suspects’ names. One of the accused is alleged Zig Zag Crew member Dustin Feniuk, a source said.
During the raids, cops also discovered a clandestine lab at 489 Bowman Ave. in East Kildonan.
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