A Kelowna nightclub has been ordered closed by the province’s liquor control and licensing branch because of the relationship the branch claims one of the building’s owners has with organized crime.

While the branch does not name the owner or the organization, the group the owner is believed to belong to is the Hells Angels.

According to the branch, an investigation revealed the connection between the individual, one of a group that wants to take over the liquor licence at the Liquid Zoo nightclub on Lawrence Avenue, and the outlaw motorcycle gang.

The LCLB says by law, it cannot issue a liquor licence to anyone associated with a crime group or involved in criminal activity. The law is actually a 2005 LCLB policy that defines who is allowed to hold a liquor licence in B.C.

While it has been reported in the past that the nightclub has links to the Hells Angels, the motorcycle club, which has a clubhouse in Kelowna, has never publicly admitted that.

The LCLB ordered the Liquid Zoo closed on Nov. 3 and has temporarily given the license back to the original licencee. But before the club can re-open, the owners must show they own or lease the building the club is located in and they also own the business.

They have two weeks to supply proof to that effect and if they fail to do so, the LCLB says it will cancel the liquor license for good.

On Friday, there was no answer or voicemail message explaining the club’s closure at the Liquid Zoo’s telephone number.

A local on-line news organization reported Friday that a co-owner of the building, Damiano Dipopolo, is a member of the East End Hells Angels in Vancouver.

Another co-owner, Tony Raffele told Castanet.net he runs the club with a third partner, but Raffele denied he is a member of the motorcycle gang.

Raffele said he grew up with Dipopolo, but he is merely a business partner in one real estate investment that was made five years ago.

The Kelowna RCMP has maintained for years that there are several businesses in downtown Kelowna that are owned and operated by the Hells Angels but police have not made a list of those businesses public.