SBS Dateline | Falling Angels

This week on Dateline, we look at how authorities in Canada are confronting underground bikie gangs - and scoring some big hits against the Hells Angels.

Reporter Nick Lazaredes travels from coast to coast and finds a country crippled by motorcycle gang violence, and an epidemic of illicit drug use fuelled by the Hells Angels trafficking networks.

Nick meets Julian Sher, a journalist who has spent decades investigating organised crime. Yet for all his experience, one question surrounding the Hells Angels remains unanswered. "Why is it that the most open, known, brazen criminal gangs can't be put away?" he asks.

For Sher, the problem is the authorities long-term failure to consider the Hells Angels a serious threat.

But for Montreal-based crime reporter Michel Auger, the story is more complicated than that. "The Hells Angels have virtually killed all their opponents over the years, those who survived joined them," he says. Although Auger himself is an exception, having been shot in the back six times by a Hells Angels member.

As Australia deals with its own bikie problem, what lessons can be learned from Canada's experience?

Find out more this week on Dateline, Sunday 8:30pm on SBS ONE.