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Date Published: 23/01/2023

ARCHIVED - Hells Angels trial begins in Spain: gang members are accused of murder, prostitution and drug offences

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47 defendants, including three Spanish police officers, face prison sentences totalling 300 years

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Hells Angels trial begins in Spain: gang members are accused of murder, prostitution and drug offences

Murder, money laundering, extortion, prostitution, drug trafficking, illegal detention, and possession of weapons....just a few of a string of charges facing the Balearic branch of Los Angeles del Infierno - Hells Angels Motor Club (HAMC).

A complex mass trial involving 47 members of this motorcycle gang began on Monday January 23 the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requesting prison sentences totalling 300 years.

The hearing comes almost a decade after Operation Casablanca, carried out in 2013 in Mallorca by the National Police and the Guardia Civil to dismantle this particular branch of the Hells Angels, a worldwide organisation that has 350 'chapters' on five continents and 59 countries, and around 5,000 members.

According to the Anti-Corruption indictment, the Mallorcan group are "part of an international criminal organisation" that revolves around this worldwide motorcycle club founded in the US in 1948.

"One of the most serious threats associated with this expansive phenomenon is the tendency to use violence, which is aggravated by their willingness to use firearms and other weapons – and all with perfectly structured internal control in a coercive or violent manner that ensures iron discipline in a gang with a strong hierarchical character," argued the prosecution.

The accused also include three Guardia Civil officers who allegedly assisted the Hells Angels in their criminal activity.

"This is an organisation that accepts, promotes, approves and, above all, supports the criminal behaviour of its members and provides them with moral and financial support and even shelter to hide in case they need it," added prosecutors José Grinda, Juan Carrau and Juan José Rosa.

The Hells Angels settled in Mallorca in November 2009, but the 'gang' was dissolved for internal reasons in January 2011. However, the two main defendants, brothers Khalil and Abdelghani Youssafi, both belonging to the 'Nomads Chapter' from Luxembourg, remained on the island.

The prosecution is asking for sentences of 38 and 33 years in prison respectively for the brothers for "participating in crimes related to prostitution and drug trafficking".

Another of the accused, Frank Hanebuth, alleged leader of the Hells Angels Motor Club in Hannover, Germany, is allegedly responsible for setting up a replacement HAMC branch on the island, as part of the gang's "European strategy".

Mallorca proved attractive due to its geographical position, abundance of nightclub businesses (prostitution is one the groups' main sources of financing), the possibilities for money laundering and drug trafficking, and plenty of foreigners to extort money from.

The prosecution is asking for a 13-year jail term in his case.

Most of those investigated reportedly enjoyed "a high standard of living" in the Balearic Islands and owned, through nominees and companies, "movable and immovable property".

Between 2009 and 2012, they were the subject of several police operations for attempted murder, public disorder and a horrific revenge stabbing in 2010 which saw HAMC members from all over Spain and Germany descend on the island to avenge an attack on one of their members by a rival group.

They have also been investigated for extortion, illegal possession of weapons, threats and coercion, assault and inducement to prostitution, robbery with violence and an alleged murder. The gang are alleged to have paid for cosmetic surgery to make exploited women "more attractive to clients".

It's expected that the majority of the defences, led by some of the most prestigious criminal lawyers in the country, will reach plea bargains with the prosecution, accepting guilt and thus trying to reduce the sentences, according to sources close to the case. A small number are likely to demand the acquittal of their clients.

The trial, which is being held at the headquarters of the Audiencia Nacional in San Fernando de Henares, will last for more than 20 sessions with sentencing expected to take place in April.

Image 1: Archive

Image 2: Guardia Civil/Policia Nacional

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