A motorcycle gang with ties to the Hells Angels has taken up residence in Salmon Arm’s Industrial Park.
The Kelowna-based Kingpin Crew has expanded to this area.
“I can confirm that, not all, but the majority of the members of the North Shore Men’s Motorcycle Club, which had chapters in Kamloops, Salmon Arm and the North Shuswap, are now members of the Kingpin Crew,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Keane of the Salmon Arm RCMP.
On its website and Facebook pages, the Kingpin Crew calls itself a one per cent motorcycle club that has been active since the ’90s, but became an official club on Sept. 19, 2010.
A one per cent motorcycle club can be distinguished by a one per cent patch worn on the colours. According to Wikipedia, this is a reference to a comment made by the American Motorcyclist Association in which they stated that 99 per cent of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens, implying that the last one percent were outlaws.
Some biker gang websites call the Kingpin Crew a puppet club of the Hells Angels, although the term is vague and does not indicate what the relationship is between the two organizations.
“The North Shore Men’s Motorcycle Club had a clubhouse so-to-speak in the industrial park. That sign has now been removed and police have, on a number of occasions, seen individuals sporting the Kingpin Crew insignia at that location,” says Keane.
“Gang involvement is everywhere, the change is it is the first time we have seen an outlaw biker group set up a chapter here in Salmon Arm.”