CHARLOTTETOWN—Nine men affiliated with a Toronto-area Hells Angels chapter have been arrested by a new police task force targeting P.E.I.’s growing outlaw motorcycle gang presence.

Police say the nine — reportedly aged 19 to 63 — are “hangarounds” with the Hells Angels in Woodbridge, Ont.

They face charges relating to involvement in a criminal organization as well as lottery and gaming counts.

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They were arrested early Thursday by the P.E.I. Organized Crime Task Force — a joint group including municipal forces and the RCMP.

Members affiliated with the Hells Angels chapter set up shop on Prince Edward Island last December.

The Angels were without a beachhead in the Maritimes since police disbanded the former Halifax chapter in 2001.

But the gang has begun to reassert itself, strengthening its presence mainly through affiliate or so called “puppet clubs” in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I.