P.E.I. police charge N.B. biker who allegedly brought sword cane to meeting

CHARLOTETOWN, P.E.I. -- Police on Prince Edward Island have charged a New Brunswick biker with carrying a concealed weapon -- a sword cane.

The 59-year-old member of the Bacchus Motorcycle Club was arrested on Saturday.

Cpl. Andy Cook said the charges stemmed from surveillance at the Atlantic Confederation of Clubs and Independents meeting in Charlottetown on Jan. 21.

The cane was spotted as police looked through photos and videos they took of attendees, said Cook.

"We noted what became clear to us what was not a cane but a cane sword. It's very distinct, the item that we're talking about here," he said.

Cook noted other bikers at the meeting openly wore fixed-blade knives on their belts, and warned they could also be charged if they do it again.

Their legal research suggests police have grounds to lay weapons charges in such cases, he said.

"One group in particular from out of province seems to bring knives all the time when they come to parties and events. Bringing a knife into a bar in the middle of winter, visibly wearing it on your belt, I see no legal reason for someone to have that," Cook said.

"To me, that's for intimidation purposes and I think you'd be hard pressed to argue otherwise."

Premier Wade MacLauchlan said in January that his government is looking at legislative and regulatory amendments to stem the expansion of certain biker gangs that have moved into the Island in recent months.

Last December, members affiliated with the Hells Angels chapter from Woodbridge, Ont., held a party in Charlottetown to celebrate the establishment of a new so-called hangaround club there.

There are now eight Island bikers with hangaround status with the Hells Angels.

Cook, the RCMP's outlaw motorcycle gang co-ordinator on the Island, said P.E.I. is already home to two chapters of the rival Bacchus Motorcycle Club.

P.E.I. police forces have formed an Organized Crime Task Force, and Cook said their focus is on the criminality within the groups.

"We don't want to see it develop here as it has in other provinces. I've worked in British Columbia, I've worked in Ontario, and I've seen what can happen with outlaw motorcycle gangs, with the drug trafficking and the violence that comes with it," he said Tuesday.

The 59-year-old Bacchus member is charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and carrying a concealed weapon. He is to appear in Charlottetown provincial court in May.