Just when this international underworld plot looked all systems go,
everyone suddenly realized it never really ever stood a chance.
It had been penetrated and compromised from nose to tail.
They were being watched at every turn. Lurking from the start was cool high technology,
undercover agents, a SWAT team and, undoubtedly, a snitch or two.
The Mob Reporter here with a case against members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club
that spans a lot of geography, from Mexico to the United States to Romania to New Zealand.
With a slice of China and Germany on the side.
Romania's anti-organized crime squad broke the news on November 19, 2020. The night before, a
leader of the Hells Angels in Bucharest, Romania's capital, and two more Hells Angels from New Zealand
were arrested in a highly targeted blitz. They were allegedly plotting large-scale
international drug trafficking, money laundering, and a couple of underworld hits.
Let me tell you about it. It started this summer in Texas, where American law enforcement officials
tipped off Romanian police to an emerging international plot that was coming their way.
By the time two Hells Angels from New Zealand arrived in Romania,
they were already being tracked across borders through Interpol. Police then pulled off three
raids in one night in Bucharest and in a suburb of the capital. In the first,
the New Zealanders were arrested in an apartment immediately after negotiating to buy bulk cocaine.
The second raid grabbed a local biker in a warehouse right after arranging to take control
of Mexican coke destined for Romania. And finally in the suburbs, a leader of a Romanian Hells Angels
chapter was arrested, allegedly caught red-handed with 50,000 euros in cash and the ownership deeds
for two buildings that was to be the payment for the shipment destined for Bucharest, police say.
It was not a coincidence that these raids so fortuitously caught the men
in such apparently compromising circumstances. Drones with thermal cameras were buzzing outside
and apparently undercover agents were muttering inside.
With their three targets safely in hand, police then executed seven search warrants in Bucharest,
including a building used by club members where 12 motorcycles and two luxury cars were seized.
Police also found a pistol, matching ammunition, and some coke.
The plan, authorities say, was for a large load of Mexican coke and methamphetamine to be prepared in
the United States and shipped to Romania, where it was to be split between bikers both locally
and from New Zealand. The New Zealand portion was then to be trans-shipped south to their home turf.
Details are not yet fully known, but Romanian officials say others involved in the plot
were from the United States, China, and Germany. Money tied up in the deals was
being laundered through expensive purchases, including yachts, luxury cars, high-end watches,
and other goods that were transferred between countries as well as through cryptocurrency.
A subplot in the affair, authorities allege, were two hits on rivals. Court documents named
those arrested as Marius Lazăr, the leader of the Bucharest City Hells Angels, and New Zealanders
Michael Murray Matthews and Marc Patrick Johnson. They have all been held in detention pending a
decision on their extradition to the United States. New Zealand holds a special place in
Hells Angels history — bizarrely it was the very first jurisdiction outside of California to have
a Hells Angels chapter. It was founded in 1961. There are currently seven chapters in the country.
One of the New Zealanders arrested in Romania has a long interesting history of his own,
as revealed by Jared Savage, a terrific New Zealand crime reporter. Johnson has a chemistry
degree and worked for years as a lab technician before finding a more profitable outlet for his
skill set. As Savage says, he became one of the first meth cooks in New Zealand 20 years ago.
In contrast to New Zealand, Romania is a more recent entry into the Hells Angels fold.
The first chapter there was established in 2013.
There are currently six chapters there and one prospect chapter. Now another neat twist
to this still emerging story comes from another dedicated crime reporter, this one in Romania.
Valeria Cupa revealed that the target of the alleged murder plot was the president
of a Romanian chapter of the Gremium Motorcycle Club. The Gremium was founded in Germany in 1972
and claims to be the largest biker club in Germany, where they have 71 chapters.
Now this information comes from the alleged target himself, Alexandru Cazan, who told Valeria
he was expecting a fight with the Hells Angels, maybe even a large brawl, but not an assassination
attempt. He said, "we thought we might meet like this, we 10 you 10, we fight." He says police
are now afraid he will seek revenge. The Gremium outnumber the Hells Angels in Romania, he said.
Surely it's bravado. No one wants to go to war with the Hells Angels.
Cazan himself is a funny cat. He has quite a public profile in Romania. For a biker
he seems to like to see and be seen. Soon after the apparent plot to kill him was announced,
Cazan posted this photo on his Facebook page. Highlighted is a verse from the Bible, in Romanian,
that reads: "They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will
rescue you, declares the Lord." I've been unable to confirm that God is, in fact, on the Gremian's side.
But with a name like Hells Angels, I suppose that's a possibility. Thanks for watching.