A high-ranking member of the Kelowna Hells Angels who was wanted for drug trafficking has turned himself in to the Burnaby RCMP.
RCMP Sgt. Duncan Pound confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Brian Oldham, the sergeant-in-arms of the Kelowna Hells Angels, arrived at the Burnaby detachment with a lawyer.
A Canada-wide warrant had been issued for Oldham after RCMP drug squad members raided the Kelowna Hells Angels clubhouse last weekend.
On Monday, the federal Mounties detailed a drug conspiracy plot in which 500 kilograms of cocaine was to be shipped into Canada. The Mounties said marijuana grown in the Okanagan was to be used to acquire the cocaine.
Pound said Oldham knew there was no place to hide after his picture was released at the news conference.
"The writing was on the wall for him," he said of Oldham going into hiding and then surrendering to police. "He is in custody and appears in Vancouver Provincial Court Wednesday morning."
Multiple search warrants were executed Saturday in Kelowna, Osoyoos and Coquitlam.
RCMP, in outlining the plot to import the cocaine, said they had also seized $4 million along with a number of weapons, including a Thompson submachine-gun.
The vice-president of the Kelowna chapter of the Hells Angels is among those charged in the investigation dubbed E-Predicate.
David Francis Giles, who was acquitted of drug charges in 2008, has been charged with conspiracy to import and traffic cocaine. He was arrested following a reverse sting that police allege involved a plan to import and distribute $15 million worth of cocaine.
It is alleged the $4 million seized was paid in cash just before the arrests on Saturday.
RCMP believe they have busted a senior layer of a highly organized drug ring with international connections.
Please click here to read more stories from the Vancouver Province
