‘Evidence of a conspiracy’ enough to convict alleged Hells Angels drug trafficker, prosecutors say

ManitobaThe case against an alleged high-level Hells Angel is so strong, despite attempts to conceal his identity as a shot-caller in a drug-trafficking network, that he must be found guilty, Crown prosecutors argued Tuesday.Crown argues evidence shows Damion Ryan is key player, despite attempts to conceal his identityBryce Hoye · CBC News · Posted: Nov 04, 2025 11:36 AM EST | Last Updated: November 4Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesDamion Ryan, then 41, is seen in a mugshot at a March 2022 RCMP news conference in Manitoba, where Mounties announced 20 arrests, including Ryan, as part of a trafficking investigation dubbed Project Divergent. (CBC)The case against an alleged high-level Hells Angel is so strong, despite attempts to conceal his identity as a shot-caller in a drug-trafficking network, that he must be found guilty, Crown prosecutors said Tuesday.Crowns Janna Hyman and Kate Henley made closing arguments in the trial of Damion Ryan on Tuesday in court in Winnipeg. Ryan is on trial for trafficking methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, and conspiracy to profit from the proceeds of crime as a member of the Wolfpack gang and Hells Angels.”There just can’t be any doubt,” Hyman told Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Chris W. Martin Tuesday. “It all ties together and all shows only one thing — that these individuals were in a committed ongoing conspiracy to traffic in these various substances.” Much of the Crown’s case has focused on trying to establish that police evidence, largely from 2021 and early 2022, shows Ryan is the man behind a number of aliases used as he and others took pains to conceal his identity as a shot-caller in a trafficking network.The trial, which started in September, is being heard by judge alone.Officers from multiple police agencies said they seized more than $70 million worth of illicit drugs as part of Project Divergent in 2022. They also seized multiple weapons and Hells Angels and Wolfpack paraphernalia, some of which they said belonged to Ryan. (Ron Boileau/CBC)RCMP called Ryan a member of the Wolfpack gang and “likely one of the most prolific organized crime members in Canada” after he and nearly 20 others were arrested in connection with Project Divergent, a multi-year pan-provincial drug trafficking investigation that culminated in a bust in early 2022.Ryan has at various times self-represented, received help from out-of-province legal counsel, and been assisted by defence lawyer Amanda Sansregret, an amicus or friend of the court.The prosecution has laid out how a drug-dealer-turned-informant, dubbed Agent 66 because his identity is protected under a publication ban, helped RCMP close in on Ryan.Agent 66 was paid about $1 million by RCMP, court was told. He remains in witness protection and was accompanied by heavily armed police in court when he testified in September.Buddy, Berzerker, Mr. Wolf, Polar Bear, Big Homie, Dime and Dame are among the aliases used in copious surreptitiously recorded calls, audio from in-person meetings and messages from encrypted apps presented at trial. They are all Ryan, the Crown argued.”Mr. Ryan is Big Homie … Mr. Ryan is Polar Bear and … Mr. Ryan is Mr. Wolf,” Hyman told court Tuesday. Ryan had a Facebook account where he went by Polar Bear and had photos associating him with the Wolfpack, she said.Some of the communication was done through proxies, and some directly with Agent 66.In discussions where deals are mentioned, drugs were also given nicknames — cocaine is “white” or “girls,” meth is “winds” or “windows,” fentanyl is “pants,” Hyman said.Crown witnesses testified earlier at trial that jail calls played in court were from Andree Steele, an alleged co-conspirator Agent 66 connected with to get close to higher-level suppliers — and ultimately Ryan, court heard.Steele connected Agent 66 with two B.C.-based traffickers, court was told, including alleged dealer Ezra Beau Sametz, nicknamed Benito B, who died of an overdose in the midst of the investigation. Denis Ivziku, or Menace, filled the void and was heard on recordings identifying himself as Ryan’s brother-in-law.Steele connected Agent 66 to Ivziku and was paid a “finders fee,” Hyman said.Ivziku is accused as a co-conspirator. He disappeared around the time of the Project Divergent bust.Ivziku and Sametz both discussed the sale of fentanyl, meth and other drugs, Hyman said.Ivziku and Agent 66 met in September and October 2021 and arranged deals in each case for 10 kilograms of meth, court was told.Police also intercepted messages that Hyman said were between Ivziku and Ryan ahead of a third meeting with Agent 66. They said they should line up more meth, expecting the agent would want the same amount again.Ivziku sent the agent a pin via Threema, a Swiss-based encrypted messaging app, that eventually connected him to a “Mr. Wolf,” court heard.Ivziku arranged to ship meth from B.C. to Winnipeg in a vehicle outfitted with hidden compartments in fall 2022, prosecutors allege.He also helped Agent 66 connect with Berzerker or Mr. Wolf, who Hyman says is Ryan.They eventually had a face-to-face meeting in December 2022. Agent 66 wore a wire, and audio played in court suggests Agent 66 and Ryan discussed shipping cocaine through the mail to Winnipeg.Court previously heard Agent 66 paid a courier $200,000 on Jan. 13 upon receipt of 5 kg of cocaine in Winnipeg.Ryan and others were arrested in March 2022, not long after Agent 66 received a drug shipment.Hyman argued that regardless of whether the court accepts that the Crown clearly established Ryan as the man behind the various aliases, his appearance at that December meeting ought to prove on a balance of probabilities that he was a member of a criminal organization conspiring to benefit from the proceeds of trafficking organization.”All of those pieces prove that the drug conspiracy leads inevitably to the conspiracy to benefit from the proceeds of crime,” Hyman said.Ivziku’s and Steele’s meetings and intercepted communications with Agent 66 similarly prove their role in the conspiracy, Hyman argued.The defence is expected to scrutinize expert police testimony presented at trial during its closing arguments next week.WATCH | Evidence against alleged Hells Angel drug trafficker overwhelming, prosecutors say :Evidence against alleged Hells Angel drug trafficker overwhelming, prosecutors sayCrown attorneys made their closing arguments in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday in the drug-trafficking trial of Damion Ryan, an accused Hells Angel and Wolfpack gang member police once called “likely one of the most prolific organized crime members in Canada.”