Portugal charges 89 Hells Angels bikers after brutal attack

LISBON, Portugal – Portugal’s attorney general’s office says authorities have charged 89 Hells Angels bikers with crimes including attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, extortion and drug trafficking.

In a statement Thursday, it said the accused were armed with knives and bats when bursting into a restaurant near Lisbon last year and tried to kill four people. Two of those charged are in Germany awaiting a ruling on Portugal’s extradition requests.

The incident sparked a major police investigation, with 400 detectives deployed across the country in a crackdown on the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

The Hells Angels gang is relatively new in Portugal. Elsewhere in Europe, prosecutors in the Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have cracked down on its activities in recent times.