The Organizer Died Five Weeks Before the Plea and the Charge That Names the Club Survived Him: Randall King Admits Trafficking Cocaine for the Hells Angels Nanaimo Chapter, Five Years and Eight Months After CFSEU-BC Opened the File (September 22, 2026)
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia published a release on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 announcing that Randall James Morley King, known in the file as Randy, pleaded guilty on September 14 to four offences arising from a trafficking network CFSEU-BC says involved members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Nanaimo Chapter. One of the four is the count that matters most to the agency: trafficking cocaine for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization. The other three are conspiracy to traffic cocaine and two straight counts of trafficking cocaine. The file was opened by CFSEU-BC’s Island District in January 2021, charges against six people followed, and the agency says the seizures ran to approximately 3.5 kilograms of cocaine, $160,000 in cash, several firearms and Hells Angels paraphernalia. King will be sentenced at a later date the release does not give.
The count that names the club
CFSEU-BC calls the criminal organization plea “a significant outcome,” and the phrasing in its own release explains why. A conviction for trafficking cocaine is a conviction against a person. A conviction for trafficking cocaine for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization is a finding that reaches past the person to the structure he was working inside. The agency has been saying since January 2021 that this network involved the Nanaimo chapter; the plea entered on September 14, 2026 is the first time in this file that a court record carries that proposition as an admission rather than an allegation.
The release does not say what sentence the Crown will seek, what range the criminal organization count exposes King to, or whether the guilty plea was entered under an agreement. It does not give a sentencing date.
Six names, and where each one now stands
The investigation culminated in arrests and charges against six people. CFSEU-BC lists them as Jeffery Scott Pasanen, Randall James Morley King, Johnathan Erin Clifford, Rhys Tyler Vernon Bolton, Shawna Lynne Leblanc and Peter Bruce Billie. Three of the six — Bolton, Leblanc and Billie — have already entered guilty pleas and been sentenced for offences the release describes only as related to drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic. It publishes no sentence length for any of the three, no sentencing dates, and does not say whether any of them pleaded to a criminal organization count or to the plain trafficking offences.
Johnathan Erin Clifford remains before the court and is still at trial. With King’s plea, four of the six are now resolved by admission, one is dead, and one is contested.
The man police called the organizer did not live to the verdict
On August 10, 2026, Jeffery Pasanen died while the court proceedings were still running. CFSEU-BC describes him as a senior member of the Hells Angels and says he was alleged to have been an organizer of the drug trafficking network. That is the whole of what the release says about it. No cause of death is given, no location, no indication of whether the death was investigated by any police agency, and no statement of what happened to the charges he was facing.
The chronology is worth stating plainly: the person police identified as the network’s organizer died thirty-five days before the co-accused entered the guilty plea that carries the criminal organization finding. The allegation against Pasanen will not be tested.
What the release publishes — and what it does not
- Published: the four offences King pleaded guilty to and the date of the plea, September 14, 2026; the opening date of the investigation, January 2021; the unit, CFSEU-BC’s Island District; the six names charged; the seizure totals of approximately 3.5 kilograms of cocaine and $160,000 in cash; the fact that firearms and Hells Angels paraphernalia were seized; the date of Jeffery Pasanen’s death, August 10, 2026; the trial status of Johnathan Erin Clifford; references to two earlier CFSEU-BC releases dated 2022-01-17 and 2023-12-11; and a quotation from Superintendent Ryan Element.
- Not published: how many firearms were seized, what any of them were, whether any was restricted, prohibited or loaded; what the Hells Angels paraphernalia consisted of or how much of it there was; any age, hometown or occupation for any of the six; the sentences imposed on Bolton, Leblanc and Billie, or the dates they were imposed; any sentencing date for King; any cause of death or investigating agency for Pasanen; what became of the charges Pasanen was facing; the dates of the searches that produced the seizures; and any address, community or premises beyond “Vancouver Island.”
- Named organization: the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Nanaimo Chapter, named by CFSEU-BC in the release.
Timeline
- January 2021CFSEU-BC’s Island District opens a complex investigation into an organized drug trafficking network operating on Vancouver Island.
- Approximately one year, from January 2021Investigators gather evidence relating to the activities of individuals the agency associates with the Hells Angels Nanaimo Chapter. Seizures over the course of the investigation total approximately 3.5 kilograms of cocaine, $160,000 in cash, several firearms and Hells Angels paraphernalia.
- January 17, 2022CFSEU-BC issues an earlier media release on the investigation, referenced in the September 2026 release by its date.
- December 11, 2023A second earlier CFSEU-BC release, also referenced by date, marks the arrests and charges against six people: Jeffery Scott Pasanen, Randall James Morley King, Johnathan Erin Clifford, Rhys Tyler Vernon Bolton, Shawna Lynne Leblanc and Peter Bruce Billie.
- Dates not publishedRhys Tyler Vernon Bolton, Shawna Lynne Leblanc and Peter Bruce Billie each plead guilty and are sentenced for offences related to drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic. No sentence length is published for any of the three.
- August 10, 2026Jeffery Pasanen, described by CFSEU-BC as a senior member of the Hells Angels and alleged to have been an organizer of the network, dies while court proceedings are ongoing. No cause is given.
- September 14, 2026Randall James Morley King pleads guilty to trafficking cocaine for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization; to conspiracy to traffic cocaine; and to two counts of trafficking cocaine. Sentencing is set for a later date.
- September 22, 2026CFSEU-BC publishes the release announcing the plea, eight days after it was entered, with a quotation from Acting Chief Superintendent Ryan Element.
What Superintendent Element said
Superintendent Ryan Element, Acting Chief of CFSEU-BC, is the only person quoted in the release. He calls the outcome “a significant result for CFSEU-BC” and says it “reflects the relentless work and determination of our Island District investigators.” He adds that the team “spent years pursuing this investigation, from gathering evidence and making arrests to supporting a lengthy and complex court process,” and that organized crime investigations of this size “are complex, resource-intensive and can take years to move through the justice system.” The release credits the Public Prosecution Service of Canada as the partner on the court side.
Five years and eight months separate the opening of the file from the publication of this plea. That interval is the release’s own subject as much as the plea is.
Opened the investigation in January 2021 and carried it through the court process
Acting Chief, CFSEU-BC; the only person quoted in the release
Prosecuting partner named in the release
Media relations officer, RCMP with CFSEU-BC; contact on the release
Sources
- CFSEU-BC media release, “Randall ‘Randy’ King pleads guilty to trafficking cocaine for a criminal organization following CFSEU-BC investigation,” September 22, 2026 — cfseu.bc.ca
- Earlier CFSEU-BC media releases referenced within the September 22, 2026 release by their dates, 2022-01-17 and 2023-12-11
Randall James Morley King has pleaded guilty and has not yet been sentenced. Johnathan Erin Clifford remains before the court at trial and the allegations against him have not been proven. Jeffery Scott Pasanen died on August 10, 2026 while proceedings were ongoing and the allegations against him will not be tested. The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Nanaimo Chapter is named here because CFSEU-BC names it in its own release.