A judge has denied bail to a former Manitoba RCMP officer who gave up the badge and allegedly became a high-ranking Hells Angels associate.
Wayne Shuttleworth learned Monday he will have to remain behind bars while pending on charges connected to a massive undercover police investigation dubbed "Project Divide." Shuttleworth has been in custody since December, when police executed a series of search warrants and arrested 31 targets in Manitoba and British Columbia.
A court-ordered ban prevents specific details of the bail hearing from being published.
Court documents obtained by the Free Press show Shuttleworth apparently hid his policing past from fellow Zig Zag Crew members, knowing it would be an automatic ticket to rejection from the gang that serves as a puppet club to the Hells. Shuttleworth, 39, has been charged with participating in a criminal organization, trafficking a firearm, possession of proceeds of crime and conspiracy to launder money. Police identified Shuttleworth in search warrant affidavits as a full-patch member of the Zig Zag Crew.
The documents say Shuttleworth was an RCMP officer between 1991 and 1994, who had extensive firearm training and "an ongoing interest in firearms." Shuttleworth allegedly had various conversations with secret police agent Michael Satsatin in which he discussed having a connection on the Sandy Bay Indian Reserve that would allow him to purchase firearms.
Investigators seized 165 ounces of cocaine, 12 ounces of methamphetamine, 12,000 ecstasy tablets, one ounce of heroin and seven pounds of marijuana during their investigation, along with cash, firearms and gang paraphernalia. More than 300 Mounties and police from Winnipeg, Brandon, Ste. Anne and B.C. were involved.
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