Officials with Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) said an investigation into outlaw motorcycle groups in Fort McMurray had resulted in the arrest of five individuals.

ALERT said the investigation was prompted by an alleged clash between the Fort McMurray chapters of the Warlocks and the Syndicate, a Hells Angels support club.

Starting in late August, officials said a number of criminal incidents have been linked to that conflict – and those incidents are still under investigation.

On Wednesday, September 21, four search warrants were executed, and five members of the Warlocks were arrested. The searches were carried out in three vehicles and a home in Fort McMurray, which is alleged to be the Warlocks’ clubhouse.

Investigators seized: seven Warlocks vests, Warlocks club documents and paraphernalia, fifteen rifles and shotguns, a Glock handgun, and other prohibited weapons including brass knuckles and bear spray.

All of the sixteen firearms seized were legally possessed, and no firearms charges are being sought – but the weapons were seized in the interest of public safety, and ALERT said they would seek their destruction.

Five Warlocks members were arrested, and charged with committing an indictable offence for a criminal organization, robbery, and possession of a prohibited weapon. The accused have been identified as: Jordan Norman, 31, Jeremy Smith, 30, Justin Swyer, 33, Randolph Carpentier, 55, and Shawn Brett, 27.

The accused are all in custody, and bail has been denied.

They’re all expected to appear in a Fort McMurray courtroom on September 26.

The Warlocks gang has operated in Fort McMurray since 2010, and is one of two Canadian chapters of the Florida-based club. There was a chapter operating out of Drayton Valley, but it was dismantled in March 2014 following an ALERT investigation.

The Syndicate is a support club of the Hells Angels, and has operated in Fort McMurray since 2009 – ALERT said there are about two dozen Hells Angels support clubs in Alberta.