Harley Davidson

This 1993 Harley-Davidson was seized after an investigation led by a DEA Mobile Enforcement Team or MET. Then-DEA Administrator Thomas Constantine established the MET program in April 1995 to overcome challenges faced by local law enforcement such as limited resources, funding, and diversification of personnel. Their goal was to help state and local law enforcement agents address drug related problems in their communities.

One MET team was called to Salem, Massachusetts in 1995 to assist local and state police with an investigation of the local Hells Angels Motorcycle club. The Salem Chapter was one of the biggest in the East coast and was making a lot of money from crime. The club was a front of a notorious and violent drug trafficking organization. The organization was involved in cocaine and methamphetamine distribution among other criminal activities.

After an 18-month investigation, on September 5, 1996, hundreds of police officers raided 15 addresses associated with the Club across Massachusetts. In all, 16 Angels and their associates were arrested and in 1997 eventually jailed. This motorcycle was seized from the President of the Salem Chapter as it was purchased using illicit funds.

Click here to view this artifact’s episode of “Stories from the Collection,” a monthly video series on the DEA Museum’s most exciting objects.