HELSINKI, Finland (Reuters) — More than 600 Hells Angels from around the world were blamed for no more than minor traffic violations as they partied in Finland under the watchful eye of hundreds of police.
Authorities had feared more serious trouble at the three-day bikers meeting, attended by the gang's top brass, at a hunting fortress in Hameenlinna, 60 miles north of Helsinki. The meeting is held in a different country each year.
"It's quite calm up there at the party," said Thomas Elfgren, detective chief superintendent for organized crime. "With a heavy police presence they're behaving. I've only heard of some traffic violations up there," he told Reuters.
A number of bikers were arrested near Helsinki on suspicion of criminal activity, and about 70 foreign Hells Angels were refused entry to Finland because of criminal backgrounds.
The Hells Angels and rival biker gangs like the Bandidos waged a violent and bloody turf war in the Nordic countries during the mid-1990s, but since then crime linked to the groups has dropped.
The Hells Angels has some 1,800 members in 21 countries.