Seven plead guilty to drug charges in Seattle: "Fraser Valley gangsters and longtime traffickers have pleaded guilty in a Seattle courtroom for their role in a drug-smuggling operation that authorities say was carried out on behalf of the Hells Angels.
New indictments against nine B.C. men were sworn in October; seven of the accused travelled to Washington state earlier this week to admit their guilt.
Their charges flow from a massive U.S. investigation that led to the conviction of Abbotsford residents Rob Shannon and Devron Quast in late 2008 for smuggling thousands of kilos of pot and cocaine, partly -- the U.S. Attorney said -- for B.C. Hells Angels.
The newly convicted with the highest profiles, Edward 'Skeeter' Russell and Jody York, are longtime former associates of Anton Hooites-Meursing, who pleaded guilty to murder earlier this year and who is expected to be a key witness in the Surrey Six case.
Both Russell and York have been targeted in previous shootings. In fact, when Russell was wounded by hit men in 2003, Hooites-Meursing helped murder an Abbotsford teen in retaliation, according to his sentencing hearing last April."