Canadian bikers guilty of murder

The Bandidos are one of North America's most notorious biker gangs

Six men have been found guilty in Canada of murdering eight fellow bikers in the worst mass killing in the history of the province of Ontario.

Police described the case as one of "internal cleansing" within the Bandidos biker gang.

The victims from the Toronto chapter were shot dead and found in abandoned vehicles in April 2006.

The jury took just over a day, after a more than six-month trial, to return 44 murder and four manslaughter verdicts.

Tirade

The trial had heard from more than 70 witnesses.

Motorcycle gangs are inherently violent and this is a glimpse of just how violent they are Det Insp Paul Beesley Blood, bullets and motorcycle oil

The accused were Marcelo Aravena, 33, Wayne Kellestine, 60, Dwight Mushey, 41, Michael Sandham, 40, Frank Mather, 36, and Brett Gardiner, 25.

As the proceedings drew to a close, Aravena launched a tirade of expletives at his lawyer, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported.

The paper quoted the leading police investigator as saying justice had been done.

Det Insp Paul Beesley said: "Motorcycle gangs are inherently violent and this is a glimpse of just how violent they are."

First-degree murder carries mandatory life imprisonment in Canada.

The Bandidos are one of North America's most notorious biker gangs and second only in power to the Hells Angels worldwide.

The Toronto chapter was not recognised by the Bandidos' head office in Texas.

The six convicted men were mostly from a disgruntled probationary chapter in Winnipeg.

The victims were killed on a farm belonging to Kellestine.

Their bodies were found in vehicles in a field near the town of Shedden, 14km (10 miles) from where they had been killed.