undercover investigation by Medicine Hat police has stopped an Edmonton-based gang with ties to the Hells Angels from putting down roots in the southern Alberta city.
The investigation, dubbed Project Vortex, netted police 1.25 kilograms of cocaine and resulted in the arrest of three men allegedly involved with the White Boy Posse a gang that includes white supremacist members with a fondness for Nazi symbols.
Although the gang continues to operate, Medicine Hat police said their operation last week has foiled the White Boy Posse's nascent bid to sell cocaine in the city of 60,000.It was a huge impact in Medicine Hat," said Sgt. Brent Secondiak of the organized crime section. "They were in the process of finding clientele and we stopped them."Police in Edmonton who have observed the White Boy Posse said being a white supremacist isn't a requirement for being in the gang, but the racist ideology is shared by many of its members and associates."People of that mentality do gravitate to that group," said Acting Det. Dale Johnson of the Edmonton Police Service.Some members have Nazi-style swastikas tattooed on their bodies, and police have found flags and other white supremacist paraphernalia.In March, a joint Edmonton-RCMP investigation called Project Goliath ended with the arrest of 14 White Boy Posse members and 10 others believed to be associates.Police alleged the suspects were responsible for street-level cocaine dealing in Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray and Yellowknife.Law enforcement agencies have identified the White Boy Posse as a puppet gang associated with the Hells Angels.
The Hells Angels, an international outlaw biker gang with three chapters in Alberta, are believed to be responsible for wholesale drug sales to street-level gangs.
In the Medicine Hat case, three men have been charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime and possession of prohibited weapons.The accused are Christopher Scaglione, 21, and Chase Calihoo, 20, of Edmonton, and Douglas Hurton, 29, of Medicine Hat.

Christopher Byron Lord, was well known to police. He died after showing up at a local hospital with a gunshot wound on Saturday. Still, the full circumstances of the killing remain a mystery. Police have identified suspects, but haven't laid charges. They are confident that the shooting happened somewhere around 96 Avenue and 176 Street, about six blocks from where they initially combed a small park for clues following Lord's death. Police first became aware of the case after someone drove Lord to the hospital sometime after the shooting, between 5 and 6 a.m. Saturday. He later died of blood loss. Lord's death comes three years after he found himself in trouble for his role in a beating over a drug debt in Grande Prairie. Last February, he pleaded guilty to unlawful confinement after a man was lured into a crackhouse and beaten on June 10, 2005. Lord, who showed up while the crime was in progress, admitted in court to watching over the victim in confinement.
For his role, Lord received a six-month jail sentence. At the time, court heard that Lord, who was married with children, had been taking steps to recover from a substance-abuse problem. The case was his first conviction on a violent criminal offence. In the meantime, police in Edmonton are asking residents in the area where the killing took place to check their property for anything suspicious. The case is the city's 15th homicide of the year.

City police say that while the Bandidos biker gang haven't re-established themselves in Edmonton, they'll be watching to see if their re-emergence in Canada will bring them out West again.
"There's no solid information to indicate any developments here, but it's certainly on the radar screen. Our members are certainly aware of the developments out East," said police spokesman Dean Parthenis, referring to recent reports the gang is moving to set up in Ontario again.
The reports come just a few months after the gang announced it was shutting down, a development experts chalked up to the April 2006 massacre of eight Bandidos members in Ontario as well as its status as the underdogs to the more powerful Hells Angels.
On its website, a statement from the Bandidos says the decision to close was "the wrong way to go" and that the club is now reviving its chapters.
"They are just not willing to give it up and they've reopened the Bandidos back up in Canada again," a Bandidos associate told Sun Media recently