Outlaw Bikies, Australia

[adrian]

All 17 of the major bikie gangs in Queensland are banding together in the face of the new anti gang laws which are either in force already, or are proposed. Interesting stuff. If it doesn't fall apart through internal powerstruggles etc then the government may just have succeeded in making the bikie gangs even more powerful[I]

Bikies pool together under one banner
April 19, 2009 - 1:09PM

All 17 of Queensland's bikie clubs have united under a parent body to stamp out violence and lobby government.

In a historical move, disparate motorcycle gangs including Lone Wolf, Finks, Hells Angels, Life and Death, Tribe of Judah, Bandidos and Rebels rode side by side to officially launch the United Motorcycle Council of Queensland (UMCQ) in Brisbane on Sunday.

This comes in the wake of tough anti-bikie laws being implemented by the Queensland and federal governments since the Hells Angels and Comancheros were involved in a fatal brawl at Sydney airport last month.

UMCQ spokesman John Parker said the formation of the council began in earnest about 18 months ago after a brawl on the Gold Coast between the Hells Angels and Finks.

"We get bad press all the time," Mr Parker, a Rebels member, said.

"We are only a small percentage of Australians who ride motorcycles and a very small percentage of us that run into trouble."

Two members of each club will meet weekly to discuss grievances, proposed laws affecting bikies and the public perception.

Mr Parker said the council would stop any trouble that might occur between the clubs and possibly take legal action to challenge proposed bikie laws.

"We used to sit on our hands and take all of this (being unfairly targeted by government, media and police) but that's the end of that now," he said.

"We are going to pull together."

[adrian]

Hells Angels told to shoot 'enemies' on sight

SHAMED Hells Angels leaders have ordered their troops to 'shoot on sight' in a deadly bid to repair the gang's shattered image.

A string of recent attacks, including the firebombing of their national headquarters in Adelaide at the weekend, has angered the gang's American leaders.

They have ordered their Australian chapters to take steps to restore its hardcore reputation - but equally to begin repairing the Hells Angels "brand" - by shooting at any Comanchero on sight.

The Angels have a long-held policy of "instant retaliation" and for more than 50 years worked to maintain its reputation as one of the most powerful biker gangs in the world.

The Angels' US headquarters feels the Australian chapters have badly let that reputation down after escalations in the war with Comancheros.

Particularly galling is the attacks have gone unanswered.

To underline its embarrassment at the lack of reprisals, the Americans have banned Australian chapters from their annual world run, expected to take place next month.

It has left Australia's Hells Angels no choice but to honour America's directive and ignore recent attempts at peace talks between rival Australian gangs.

While peace talks have happened, the Hells Angels headquarters is more interested in protecting its reputation.

It leaves the biker world on edge, with little doubt the war will escalate once again.

Two Comancheros were arrested in Sydney's Roselands on Monday carrying, among other items, balaclavas, duct tape and a 48cm machete.

Roselands is considered a Hells Angels stronghold.

"You carry a .45 for protection, you carry those things because you're out to kidnap somebody," a gang insider said. "And it's not like they were just driving around the corner from home.

"If they were in Roselands they mean business."

A 31-year-old man was charged with being armed with intent and for possessing a prohibited drug.

A 22-year-old man was charged with breaching his bail conditions and driving while disqualified, and was refused bail in court.

The Hells Angels' image has taken a battering since the bashing death of Anthony Zervos at Sydney airport a month ago.

While Zervos was not a patched member, he died on the Angels' battlefield while brawling with rival Comanchero gang members.

His brother Peter, the Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms, was shot down in the driveway of his apartment complex little more than a week later and barely survived.

This followed the Hells Angels' Petersham clubhouse being bombed in February, believed to be a Comanchero attack.

Yet the Hells Angels have so far not struck a blow in revenge of the attacks.

Indeed, Sydney's streets have even quietened in recent weeks as Strike Force Raptor cracks down on outlaw biker gangs

[cattivo]

theres nothing like a good war to clear the air



hahhahahhhhahah

[Much]

It will be interesting to see what the HA do next. Maybe they should patch over to another club. After all they only one step away from having their patches pulled by the american angels. Maybe they should join the Mongols MC, and give them their first international chapter.

[Hollander]

Cops cant win bikie war: Utah
Robyn Wuth

May 8th, 2009

POLICE cannot win the bikie war.

That is the chilling warning from bikie insider Stevan Utah.

The Bandido insider Steve Utah yesterday warned that under the present climate, there would be no winners.

``I think the politicians have totally shit themselves with this OMG climate, out of their depth, caught off guard and unprepared,'' said Utah.

``Then they blame the police for their legislative failure.''

He denied having a vendetta against police.

``There are a lot of coppers that want to tear heads off, There are a lot that want to hide and hope the problem goes away.

``A lot of police take the easy way out an bend over for clubs.''

He called on Australian law enforcement to study the how bikies had been handles internationally.

``I think we here should stop being so God damn arrogant and learn from other countries.''

Utah was once on the inside of the global Bandidos outlaw empire now he's on the run for his life.

He fled Australia and lives every day in the knowledge that if he is discovered by the Bandidos, a club whose tentacles spread around the world, it will be his last.

Yesterday, Utah stepped forward to take his message on bikie gangs to the people through a live chat.

He was not paid a cent by the Gold Coast Bulletin or News Limited.

His goal was simply to inform and educate.

``I did it, because it was the right thing to do,'' said Utah after the chat.

Despite turning informer and being openly critical of outlaw gangs, Utah staunchly protested against the proposed bikie laws.

``These laws will destroy everyone's basic civil liberties and basic fundamental rights,'' he said.

He also cut to the heart of the bikie way of life.

``It's mostly about drugs, power and money and the brotherhood way of life is dying.''

Despite being an invaluable source to international law enforcement, Utah revealed he cannot find an Australian lawyer brave enough to represent him.

``All lawyers said this too me `Steve we cant do it we have young families and we don't want any trouble with bikies','' he stated on the blog.

``I cant clear our names because lawyers are scared to defend me.''

At last count, Utah's live chat received an unprecedented 2456 page impressions.

Hundreds of people continued to read Utah's exclusive transcript.

Today, Stevan Utah remains in hiding.

[Hollander]

Four injured in Perth gunfight
May 19, 2009 .
Four people have been injured in a gunfight, including a senior bikie gang member who was shot three times in the chest, it has been reported.

Former Gypsy Jokers president Lennard Mark Kirby and gang "associate" Alexandro Scilio, both of whom have a history of drug offences, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in what police say was a drug-related incident at a Jandakot home on Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday it emerged another two people, believed to be members of a street gang not linked to bikies, had been wounded in the same shootout.

The pair were among five people detained by police as "persons of interest" after officers found them at a hotel in Joondalup, in Perth's north, on Tuesday.

The ABC reported they were members of a street gang, which included two women, that had ambushed Kirby and Scilio, leading to the shootout.

The Seven Network said it had learnt the shootout occurred after a dispute over drug quality.

Police would only confirm that two people had been taken to hospital for medical attention and that the other three were being questioned.

Kirby was only recently released from prison on parole after serving seven years for drug trafficking.

He was president of the Gypsy Jokers in September 2001, when former CIB head Don Hancock, 64, and racing identity Lawrence Lewis, 63, were killed in a car bomb blast in the driveway of Mr Hancock's Lathlain home.

Police suspected the The Gypsy Jokers in the slayings, believing it was revenge for the death the previous year of Gypsy Joker member William Grierson.

Grierson was shot just hours after Mr Hancock threw him out of his hotel in the tiny Goldfields hamlet of Ora Banda.

Before the bombing, Mr Hancock had rejected offers of police protection and denied any involvement in the sniper-style killing of the bikie gang member.

The state government offered a record $500,000 reward to flush out those behind the killing of Mr Hancock and his mate, but said their investigations had been hampered by the strict bikie code of silence.

[Hollander]

NSW bikies ride in show of unity
June 13, 2009 - 5:04PM .
Bikies from 14 gangs across NSW have roared through Sydney's eastern suburbs in a show of unity.

Members of clubs making up the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, including Hells Angels, Nomads and Comancheros, rode together on Saturday, with some speaking out against the NSW government's anti-bikie laws during a media conference at Moore Park.

The council's spokesman, known as Ferret, said the laws do not focus just on bikies.

"As a minority group, the government seems to think they have easier control on us ... (through) this law, which in no way anywhere in it does it state motorcyclist, biker, one per centre, outlaw club member, it's for everyone in NSW," he told Macquarie Radio.

The government approved laws in April that enable the police commissioner to apply to the NSW Supreme Court to have an outlaw motorcycle gang declared a criminal organisation.

The laws' introduction followed a brawl at Sydney airport between Hells Angels and Comancheros, which resulted in the death of Anthony Zervas, 29.

Police monitored the ride on Saturday and followed the pack after they posed for media photographs.

[cattivo]

[Junior]

Australia rescinds biker-gang ban
BBC News, June 23, 2011

Australia's High Court has overturned a law designed to criminalise certain motorcycle gangs in the state of New South Wales.

The law would have allowed police to seek court orders stopping gang members from associating with each other.

But a member of the Hell's Angels challenged the law on the grounds that it curtailed individual liberties.

The law was introduced following a brawl at Sydney airport in 2009 in which a man was beaten to death.

The BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney says similar anti-biker laws in other Australian states may now face legal challenges.

The legal challenge to the law was based on two arguments - that the anti-biker law curtailed individual liberties, and that it also undermined the integrity of the courts.

The gang member's lawyer Wayne Baffsky said the law had the potential to destroy democratic society.

"It targets organisations who are defined as any two or more people, which means any two or more people in NSW could be a target of the act," he was quoted as saying by ABC news.

"The legislation was rushed through. The parliamentary oversight committee didn't even have an opportunity to look at it."

The court ruled that the law was outside the legislative powers of the New South Wales parliament.

[Junior]

Hells Angels bikie boss Samir Jouayde arrested 12 days after getting married
From:The Daily Telegraph, July 28, 20117:07PM

HELLS Angels bike boss, Samir Jouayde, was arrested today two weeks after walking down the aisle to get married.

Today he is behind bars after being charged with participate in a criminal group, demand money with menace, and deal with the proceeds of crime. He was refused bail when he appeared in Burwood local court.

The arrests are part of a on-going police investigation targeting organised criminal networks and Out Law Motor Cycle Gang’s involved in alleged tax fraud.

Strike Force Edinburgh was established in April 2010 by the State Crime Command’s Gangs Squad working with the Australian Taxation Office and NSW Crime Commission.

The Strike Force was established to investigate money laundering and significant tax fraud by bikies and other criminal networks including finance industry professionals; as well as extortion of local businesses; the establishment of false businesses; illegal drug supply; and firearms supply.

At 6.30am, 19 simultaneous search warrants were executed by Gangs Squad detectives and other police specialists units including Strike Force Raptor, State Crime Command, the Public Order and Riot Squad, Dog Unit, and Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit.

Police allegedly found 11 firearms, a silencer, ammunition, together with a quantity of steroids, cash, computers and financial documents.

A total of 11 people have been arrested by police so far, including the following:

A 30-year-old man, an alleged high-ranking member of the Hells Angels OMCG, arrested at Guilford and charged with participate in a criminal group, demand money with menace, and deal with the proceeds of crime. He was refused bail to appear at Burwood Local Court today.

A 29-year-old man, an alleged Hells Angels member, arrested at Auburn and charged with participate in a criminal group, demand money with menace, deal with the proceeds of crime, and 16 counts of fraud-related offences.

A 28-year-old man, an alleged Hells Angels member, was arrested at Parramatta Police Station and charged with participate in a criminal group, demand money with menace, and deal with the proceeds of crime.

A 27-year-old man, an alleged Hells Angels member, arrested at Georges Hall and charged with participate in a criminal group, demand money with menace, and deal with the proceeds of crime.

A 37-year-old man arrested at Wentworthville and charged with obtain benefit by deception. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Fairfield Local Court today.

A 34-year-old man, arrested at Condell Park was released pending further enquiries.

A 42-year-old man, arrested at Canterbury was charged with obtain benefit by deception and deal with the proceeds of crime. He was granted conditional bail to appear at Burwood Local Court at a later date.

A 24-year-old man was arrested at Menai and charged with aggravated possession of firearms, not keep firearm safe x2, and possess prohibited weapon (silencer). He was refused bail to appear at Sutherland Local Court today.

A 46-year-old man arrested at Glenwood was charged with fraud related offences. He will appear at Blacktown local court.

"These are significant arrests and include many high ranking bikies. We have have identified a number of suspected complex tax frauds and related extortion matters." NSW Police Gangs Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis.

"Today’s operation is one of the largest single operations conducted by the State Crime Command targeting Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs and organised criminal networks.

"The NSW Police Force is committed to targeting all levels of illegal activities by OMCGs and organised criminal networks.

"The NSW Police Gangs Squad has and will continue to work in partnership with the Australian Taxation Office and NSW Crime Commission to target and investigate people involved in these types of illegal activity.

"Detectives urge any person or finance industry professional who is aware of, or involved in similar activities, to come forward before police track you down."

"Investigations are continuing and further arrests are expected," Det Supt Katsogiannis said.

[Much]

Australia has a huge problem with the 1%er motorcycle clubs.
I would hate to be a cop in that country, but I would love to be a criminal defence lawyer that must be making a good living.

[Peter]

Check the interactive links in the article about clubs and their dealings.

http://www.news.com.au/australian-bikies-h...f-1226166279473

[Junior]

Shootings from bikie dispute between the Nomads and the Hells Angels 'not a war'
Katherine Danks, The Daily Telegraph, November 07, 2011

DEFECTIONS between the Nomads and the Hells Angels bikie gangs could have sparked a spate of drive-by shootings, police said yesterday.

But Gangs Squad commander Arthur Katsogiannis said the tit-for-tat violence was part of a dispute between individual bikies and not a war between the clubs.

Superintendent Katsogiannis and Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad commander Deborah Wallace yesterday called for a end to the violence after shootings near the Ibrahim family home in Merrylands and at Ermington over the weekend.

Among possible motives for the violence was a number of recent defections between the clubs, known as "patching over", Supt Katsogiannis said.

"If this was a full scale war between the Nomads and the Hells Angels you would not have the shootings isolated at one particular area, they would be right around the metropolitan area and around the state," he said.

"It is a conflict between two or three individuals who are part of those gangs, and the conflict is solely between themselves and we're trying to resolve that."

Police have linked eight shootings since last Thursday to the dispute, including one in Northmead where an innocent woman's house was sprayed with bullets as she slept.

In the last attack, a Merrylands home belonging to a member of the Ibrahim family was shot at on Saturday about 8.45pm. A black four-wheel drive was seen leaving the area after shots were fired, but no one was injured and there was no damage to the house.

In the later incident, police were called to a house at Ermington about 12.05am yesterday after the owner came home and discovered damage to the front of the house.

Police believe the damage to a wall and window was caused by a bullet. No one was in the house at the time.

Strike Force Felix, established to investigate the shootings, has made "significant inroads" about the identity of those involved and the cause of the dispute, Supt Katsogiannis said. "We want to reassure the public that we are doing everything possible."

[Junior]

Ex-bikie boss jailed for airport murder

By Paul Bibby, Sydney Morning Herald, April 10, 2012

Former national Commanchero bikie boss, Mahmoud "Mick" Hawi has been sentenced to at least 21 years in jail for the murder of Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas in the infamous Sydney Airport brawl.

Mr Zervas, 29, was bludgeoned with a bollard and stabbed in the chest and abdomen during the brawl on March 22, 2009, which shocked bystanders and the city more broadly.

Today, Hawi, 31, was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court to a maximum of 28 years in jail with a non-parole period of 21 years. This followed a marathon trial, which concluded on November 2 last year, when Hawi was found guilty of murder and affray.

The sentencing judge, Justice Robert Allan Hulme, said the Commancheros and Hells Angels had assembled at the airport after being contacted by gang members on a plane from Melbourne.

Hells Angels chapter president Derek Wainohu, who was on the plane and felt intimidated by Hawi and other Commancheros present, sent a text for help and, in response, a number of Hells Angels, including Mr Zervas, went to the airport.

There were a series of scuffles in which 12 Commancheros confronted five Hells Angels, punching and kicking each other and attacking each other with heavy metal bollards in the departure lounge.

Mr Zervas died during the brawl.

Five other Commanchero members were also tried for murder. They were found not guilty, found guilty of manslaughter or are facing retrials after the jury was hung.

A further six members or associates of the Commancheros were subsequently convicted of a range of offences including riot, affray and assault.

"This was a shocking and violent crime," Justice Hulme said.

"The deceased was killed in an act of retribution because he dared to attack the president of the Commenchero. No one, in his mind, was going to get away with that."

Justice Hulme described how many of those who saw the brawl were left in a state of shock, including a young mother who, after protecting her child, was "frozen in fear".

"The fighting, though short-lived, was shocking and vicious," he said.

"There was a large crowd of innocent bystanders. They were shocked and frightened that such violence could occur in such a public place."

Justice Hulme said the Commenchero had been in conflict with the Hells Angels for some time.

"A business being conducted by persons associated with the Hells Angels in Brighton-Le-Sands had been firebombed. A Hells Angels controlled tattoo parlour in Petersham was the subject of a drive-by shooting. A Hells Angels clubhouse in Crystal Street, Petersham, had been bombed.

"It was the belief of police that the Comanchero were responsible for each of these incidents."

He said a chance meeting with Mr Wainohu, on the flight from Melbourne and the summoning of reinforcements to Sydney Airport led to the riot that culminated in the death of Mr Zervas.

"Anthony Zervas was the first to make a move by attacking the offender [Hawi]. It was a pre-emptive strike in the face of an inevitable attack but it was foolish in the extreme. He was 161 centimetres tall and weighed only 58 kilograms while [Hawi] was 178 centimetres tall with a muscular build. A witness description of a man having 'arms as big as legs was apt for the offender'."

Hawi stood, chin raised, as the judge delivered the sentence.

Mr Zervas's mother, Frederika Bromwich, broke down in court after the sentence was read and nearly fainted outside court as - flanked by her daughters - she addressed the media.

"No punishment is enough for the loss of my son," a shaky and tearful Ms Bromwich said.

"I just pray that he gets the punishment he deserves. My son didn't deserve to die in that way."

[Junior]

Sydney shootings - fear rules the streets as bikie war hits full blast
By Clementine Cuneo and Nathan Klein
The Daily Telegraph
April 18, 2012

IT was Sydney's worst night of gun crime in decades.

Five shootings within a few hours - and a machine gun spraying bullets in a suburban street - as a war between rival bikie gangs ramped up to terrifying heights.

Senior police conceded it was a "shocking" few hours, with the first gun fired at a Granville house just after midnight yesterday.

Gunfire continued throughout Sydney's western suburbs four more times before dawn.

Senior police tried to deny a full-blown bikie war was imminent while at the same time admitting a turf war between the Hells Angels and Nomads outlaw motorcycle gang members were behind four of the five shootings.

A fifth shooting at Northmead was not bikie linked, instead believed to be the result of business dealings gone bad.

An extra 100 police officers were last night sent to patrol the shooting heartland, largely to head off any retribution attacks by the Hells Angels, who were the target of three of the shootings.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione conceded that even if he put an officer on every street corner, it would not stop the shootings.

"This is criminal on criminal," Mr Scipione said.

"There is nothing random about these crimes."

Police confirmed the Granville home shot up just after midnight is owned by relatives of Mahmoud Dib, the former sergeant-at-arms of the Bandidos Parramatta chapter, who last year defected to the Nomads. An occupant of the house heard gunfire and later found bullet holes in the front of the Grimwood St property. He then contacted police.

A short distance away a Merrylands home owned by the elderly parents of accused drug dealer Jeffrey Sahyoun was shot up about 2.40am, with what police believe was a machinegun. Sahyoun, 26, a high-ranking Hells Angels member, was arrested last month and charged with multiple drug and firearms offences. He was refused bail.

Strike Force Kinnarra was set up yesterday to investigate the drive-by shootings at the Sahyoun and Dib homes, and the Merrylands and Baulkham Hills tattoo parlours.

The Merrylands shop, in Pitt St, was peppered with bullets about 4am, while the Seven Hills Rd parlour at Baulkham Hills was hit about 1am. Both tattoo parlours have been shot at before.

"We know who is linked to those businesses and we are targeting them," Assistant Police Commissioner Frank Menelli said.

State Crime Commander, acting Assistant Commissioner Mal Lanyon, said police were still facing a wall of silence in their efforts to investigate the shootings.

He said there was no doubt the "reckless" shootings were all about "conflicting groups sending a message".

"Members of the community have information about these shootings and the people involved," Mr Lanyon said.

"We also know there are members of these groups out there who don't agree with the violence being used. I encourage these people to provide that information to police. That information can be provided anonymously."

At Northmead, two children playing on a computer narrowly avoided a hail of bullets when their Centenary Ave home was hit about 1.15am. Occupant Abdullah Ahmadi, his wife and five children aged between 14 and two were inside at the time.

Although police claim the shooting was linked to bad business dealings through Nomadic Home Loans in which Mr Ahmadi is involved, he denied this.

"We don't have enemies in this country and don't know why this has happened," he said.

"It could be a case of mistaken identity ... there are a couple of Afghans in the area that are involved in gangs and have similar houses."

[Junior]

Two houses shot up, police van torched as bikie war escalates
By Lisa Davies and Stephanie Gardiner
Sydney Morning Herald
April 20, 2012

A bikie war between two rival clubs has escalated overnight, with senior members of the Nomads targeted in what police suspect are reprisal attacks for attacks on the Hells Angels gang.

Two more properties in Sydney's north-west were sprayed with bullets overnight and a police van, understood to have been conducting surveillance on a Newtown tattoo parlour, was destroyed by fire.

The Skin Deep tattoo parlour on King Street in Newtown is owned by former Nomads boss Scott Orrock.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Mal Lanyon today said the two houses were linked to the Nomads.

Police were called to a house on Greensborough Avenue, Rouse Hill, about midnight after reports of a shooting.

They found bullet holes in the house and casings lying on the street.

About 20 minutes later police were called to a house on Ashburn Close, Bella Vista - less than 10 kilometres away - after several shots were fired into a house.

People were in both houses at the time of the shootings, but no one was injured.

Mr Lanyon said a catalyst for such a dispute was usually a drug turf war between rival groups, but denied it was centred on any single area such as Kings Cross.

"The distribution of drugs by outlaw motorcycle gangs is not confined to any one area," he said.

"There has been the movement of a number of members between groups that is bringing conflict."

Such a "patch over" between members of both the Hells Angels and Nomads was a significant part of the conflict but it was only one reason the groups might be at war, he said.

Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas said the latest shootings appeared to be linked to those earlier this week.

"It certainly appears that way at the moment, but obviously we've got to let the investigation take its course," he told ABC Radio.

Mr Kaldas said the string of shootings was "nothing new", with ebbs and flows in gun crime over the past couple of years.

The overnight shootings are the 10th and 11th in a week, with two tattoo parlours and three houses shot up in the early hours of Tuesday.

On Monday, police were called to Driftway Drive, Pemulwuy, after several rounds were fired into a Mazda CX7 and a nearby house.

The day before, a 24-year-old man went to Concord Hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg.

On Saturday afternoon, former Comanchero Darko Janceski was shot dead outside his parents' house on Gannet Avenue, Berkeley, south of Sydney.

Later that day shots were fired towards a townhouse on Chiswick Road, Greenacre.

Police urged anyone with information to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

[adrian]

It's all been going off for a while in Sydney

[Junior]

Bikie charged with torching police van
Herald Sun, April 22, 2012

HELLS Angels bikie has been charged with torching a police paddy wagon in Sydney's inner-west.

The police vehicle was parked outside a tattoo parlour on King Street, Newtown at around 3am on Friday when it was set alight.

No one was in the paddy wagon at the time but it was severely damaged.

A 47-year-old member of the motorcycle gang turned himself in to Newtown Police Station on Saturday with a lawyer, police say.

He was arrested and charged with maliciously damaging property by fire, threatening to damage another person's property and four counts of intimidating a police officer.

He was refused bail and is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court today.

The arrest followed an investigation by Strike Force Kinnarra, set up specially by police this week to crack down on bikie gangs involved in an ongoing street war.

On Friday, the NSW Government banned bikie gangs owning tattoo parlours and wearing their colours in licensed Kings Cross venues after two drive-by shootings hours earlier.

Police believe the shootings are part of an ongoing dispute between rival gangs the Hells Angels and Nomads.

A total of 52 shootings between bikie gangs and other rival organised crime groups have alarmed Sydney this year.

[Junior]

Sydney bikies targeted in dawn raids
By Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop
ABC Newcastle
April 27, 2012

Police investigating Sydney's bikie gun war have raided a number of properties linked to the Hells Angels and Nomads gangs, including the home of former bikie boss Sam Ibrahim.

Two men have been arrested and detectives say they will be charged with gun and drug offences and with hindering police during the operation.

Police say they also seized drugs, two guns, banned weapons, steroids and bikie clothing and paraphernalia.

Officers from Strike Force Kinnarra started swooping on the properties at dawn.

Eighteen addresses across Sydney have been raided. The homes of senior Hells Angels Mahmoud Dib and Jeffrey Sahyoun are amongst them.

Police say the pair's families were targeted in drive-by attacks on their homes last week.

The Bella Vista home of former Nomads boss Sam Ibrahim has also been searched, as has the home of Mr Ibrahim's cousin Sleiman Tajjour.

Mr Ibrahim's three-storey house was peppered with bullets a week ago.

The shootings were among eight tit-for-tat attacks in a week, which police say were part of a turf war between the Hells Angels and Nomads over drugs and membership.

The attacks also targeted other senior bikies, associates and tattoo parlours.

More than 160 police have been involved in the raids across the city's west and north-west.

The acting commander of State Crime Command Mal Lanyon says more bikies can be expect to be charged.

"(The raids) are a very significant step into progressing our investigation, certainly in preventing violence, and shows NSW Police is incredibly serious about stopping the violence," he said.

Colours ban

A ban on bikie gang members wearing their colours in late night venues in Sydney's Kings Cross came into effect this morning.

Extra police will be on patrol tonight to enforce the new ban, which gives licensees the legal force to refuse entry to people wearing clothing, jewellery or symbols associated with bikie gangs.

The ban will apply across 58 pubs, clubs and restaurants.

Police Minister Mike Gallacher says it will reduce violence and intimidation in the Cross.

"It's also about saying to the people who are operating these venues, we do understand that they are under pressure to allow people in," he said.

"Quite often there can be a degree of intimidation and this most certainly supports them by now legislating to have an ability to ban these people, but more importantly for the patrons themselves."

[Junior]

Bikies 'unholy trinity' blocks Hells Angels
By Robyn Wuth, Gold Coast.com
April 28, 2012

THE Bandidos, Finks and Lone Wolves have formed an `unholy alliance' to combat the Hells Angels' audacious bid for territory on the Gold Coast.

The outlaw gangs have the strength and influence to fend off any challenge from the Angels and smaller clubs in the city will follow their lead to protect their turf.

The Bulletin can reveal the Hells Angels are `desperate' to expand from their Tradelink Drive home and have tried in vain to forge alliances on the Coast.

"They are kidding themselves," police said.

"The Gold Coast-based gangs will never let that happen.

"The clubs will align themselves to keep the Hells Angels out.

"They are not wanted on the Coast."

Gold Coast police continue to insist there is `no indication of a bikie war' and Taskforce Hydra yesterday tried to reassure the community as gang violence erupts across the southeast.

Bikies have fired shots into buildings, torched cars and attacked people with baseball bats as tensions rise between outlaw clubs.

An internal warning indicates Hydra, a dedicated team of police who target bikies, is braced for more violence over the weekend and police across the state are on high alert -- albeit maintaining a civilised approach.

The warning orders police to remain professional, polite and not to make derogatory remarks about gangs or members.

The Coast has been relatively stable in recent years after peace talks at a neutral Carrara bar to carve up territory, with the Finks taking Surfers Paradise and the Bandidos owning Broadbeach.

Gang sources said the bikies would do `what they have to' to resist any move by the glamour club to establish a toe-hold in the city.

The wave of violence began on Tuesday morning when a car parked in a Bandido-controlled caryard, Marooka Wholesale, was torched by the Hells Angels.

Two hours later, a volley of shots was fired into Bandido-controlled East Coast Ink at Mermaid Beach.

When the attack went unchallenged, the Hells Angels taunted the Bandidos by drinking at the Mermaid Tavern -- in the heart of Bandido territory -- before they were evicted by police.

Less than 24 hours later, the Bandidos hit back.

Five men with baseball bats attacked Brisbane tattoo parlour Platinum Ink, owned by a Sydney-born Hells Angel member.

The offenders smashed the shopfront and assaulted two employees.

Thirty minutes later, the same group of men stormed East Brisbane locksmith Millennium Locks, where the two workers injured refused to make official complaints to police.

The locksmith shares an address with businesses owned by two of the state's senior Hells Angels.

State Crime Operations Chief Superintendent Gayle Hogan said the attacks were not random.

"We are concerned that there appears to be an increase in these sorts of incidents," police said.

"And we are concerned that they could continue to increase."

Police have attempted to broker a peace deal between the two clubs with `limited co-operation'.

Insiders said the Hells Angels were `foolish' to take on the Bandidos -- the strongest club on the Gold Coast.

It holds extensive commercial interests and has cemented its place in the Glitter Strip.

"The Hells don't have the numbers to take on the Bandidos," police said.

"They've started something they won't be able to finish."

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said bikie gangs were `one of the greatest challenges' facing law enforcement and the danger of bikie gangs was `underrated'.

"The reality is they are highly sophisticated, well-organised criminal enterprises that pose a genuine risk to the community," Mr Atkinson said.

He said he would `not be surprised' by a Hells Angels push for Gold Coast territory.

"They are businesses. They look for opportunity, so that wouldn't be a surprise.

"We don't know what their plans are but they are a sophisticated criminal enterprise.

"They market themselves as a group of mature men who have a love and interest in motorbikes and they do that very cleverly.

Assistant Commissioner Graham Rynders said the gangs were constantly looking to expand.

"One of the things about OMCGs is they look for opportunity for criminal enterprise," Mr Rynders said.

"Throughout Queensland, throughout the country, probably throughout the world they are looking to expand."

[Junior]

Bikie gangs meet in Sydney

By Jessica Grewal, Fraser Coast Chronicle, May 2, 2012

RIVAL bikies in Sydney have taken the rare step of meeting on neutral ground to stop the conflict which has made every gang member in the state a police target.

ABC television program 7.30 recorded conversations between members of the Hells Angels, Rebels, Lone Wolves, Comancheros, Nomads and Black Uhlans gangs during a meeting at a Sydney club house on Monday .

The bikie bosses reportedly talk about the recent spate of shootings in Sydney's west and the need to restore order to avoid being "bent over left, right and centre" by police, the ABC said.

One member is quoted as saying: "These people fighting over turf - there ain't going to be a turf left to fight over."

Another slams breaches of the "code of conduct", saying: "[There's] no respect mate, no respect, family members are gonna get hit, someone's wife is gonna die."

In response to the escalating violence police have set their sights on anyone associating with outlaw gangs.

Last Friday more than 1000 homes and businesses with links to gang members and associates were raided.

On Monday the state's Assistant Police Commissioner Frank Mennilli said every bikie in NSW would have been visited by police by the end of the week.

[Peter]

Bikies waging a worldwide war

by: Tim Priest
From:The Australian
May 04, 201212:00AM

THE outrageous shooting of an outlaw bikie associate and an innocent woman at the Gold Coast's Robina shopping centre on a busy Saturday afternoon may well herald a new era in bikie gang-related violence.

Queensland is the latest battleground in what appears to be an escalating national feud between the Hells Angels and the Bandidos. Both had humble beginnings in the US some decades ago but in recent times they have spread across the globe, from Europe to Australia.

The expansion of these two groups has coincided with an explosion in violence in countries where they have set up chapters and, typically, that violence has caught law enforcement and governments by surprise.

In some instances, the rise in membership of these two groups has happened so quickly, local authorities could be forgiven for thinking an invasion by medieval hordes had taken place, such is the "shock and awe" that announces each gang's arrival.

The Hells Angels and the Bandidos both boast more than 2000 members worldwide, including in Australia where their numbers are being swelled by men of Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander descent.

The tit-for-tat violence committed by both groups along the east coast in recent months mirrors the exact passage that the feuds in Canada, Scandinavia, Germany and France have taken in recent times before erupting into deadly wars between the two gangs.

For a taste of what may be coming to Australia, you have only to revisit the "Quebec bikie war", the "great Nordic bikie war" and the present crisis in Germany.

The Quebec bikie war began in 1994 and lasted until 2002, eventually claiming the lives of 150 people including an 11-year-old boy and two prison officers. The fact that the war lasted eight years before it was brought under control should be an important reminder to law enforcement and governments here in Australia that there is no quick fix. These groups have flourished under Labor-dominated governments both state and federally during the past decade.

Recently installed Queensland Premier Campbell Newman echoed these sentiments on the weekend after the Robina shopping centre shooting by stating: "We've had Labor governments up the east coast for the best part of 20 years and I do blame them."

In Quebec, it took a national approach on law enforcement and powerful anti-gang laws to rein in the out-of-control bikie menace that had become a national security problem for Canada.

The threat was from within rather than outside Canada and we may be facing a similar situation here.

The "great Nordic bikie war" lasted for the best part of the 1990s and included 11 murders and 74 attempted murders. It included incidents familiar to Sydneysiders, violence between Hells Angels and Bandidos at international airports.

The most recent Hells Angels and Bandidos violence in Europe is occurring in Germany. It began with the usual firebombing of tattoo parlours, car yards and brothels controlled by both gangs. The tit-for-tat violence, as in Quebec and Scandinavia, soon escalated to murderous revenge attacks that left Germany's citizens reeling and their police force searching for solutions.

A little more than a year ago in an industrial city in Germany's Rhine Valley, the trial of a Hells Angel associate charged with murdering a rival Bandidos member required 600 German police to flood the streets surrounding the courthouse in order to prevent a significant violent incident between the two gangs. Those numbers are equivalent to putting more than a battalion of soldiers into the field to conduct an operation in a war-torn country, only the war-torn country was Germany.

The heart of the problem lies in the extraordinary riches to be made by outlaw motorcycle gangs in illegal drugs, prostitution, extortion and money laundering. Running alongside this financial gain is the deep-seated hatred that Hells Angels and Bandidos hold for each other across the globe. Australia is just the latest country to be caught up in this senseless feud.

In Australia, the Hells Angels are undergoing a phenomenal rise in membership and geographical influence across the eastern states. It's reported they have enticed up to 60 members of rival Bandidos chapters in Sydney to "patch over", the ultimate act of betrayal within the outlaw motorcycle gang "code of ethics".

Perhaps the widely admired Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson summed it up last Saturday night following the Robina shopping centre shooting, when he alluded to the ongoing bikie violence as probably the worst the state had ever seen.

All governments across the country should listen to Atkinson, as he is an old-style police commissioner and a man who chooses his words carefully.

When I saw him interviewed by the media on Saturday night, I couldn't help but notice the deep concern that he showed when he was questioned over the escalating bikie war in Queensland and the potential for it to have a significant effect on the otherwise law-abiding community he protects.

As in North America and now Europe, the Hells Angels and the Bandidos will not be broken up completely, no matter what governments threaten to do in the way of radical anti-gang laws.

The only achievable outcome, judging by the efforts of law enforcement overseas, is to limit the damage these groups can do in the short term.

Whatever measures are proposed to deal with this emerging menace, you can be assured that a squadron of eminent lawyers retained by the gangs will scrutinise any proposals to ensure not only their clients' continued freedom, but also to allow these groups to continue their activities with as little interference from police as possible.

The crackdown by NSW police on bikie gangs on the weekend is commendable but unlikely to stem the tide of violence that will sweep along the east coast in the months and years ahead.

In the meantime perhaps we should insist the bikies wear their colours 24 hours a day, so that at least they are visible to innocent members of the public who can then take evasive action before the next incident occurs.

The only glimmer of hope outside law enforcement is that the traditional bikie gangs bring their own brand of pressure to bear on the two warring groups and enforce a ceasefire.

[Junior]

Bikie boss faces nervous wait to see if his bail will be revoked
By Amy Dale, The Daily Telegraph, May 04, 2012

HELLS Angels bikie Scott Orrock faces a nervous wait until Tuesday, when a court will decide if his bail is to be revoked.

Orrock is charged with torching a police car outside Newtown police station two weeks ago, but was granted bail in court last week- a decision met with stinging criticism of the judiciary by Premier Barry O'Farrell.

Police allege Orrock stormed into the police station and told them to remove a police car parked outside his King St tattoo parlour within 10 minutes "or I'll burn it down."

The car was discovered, destroyed by fire, on the street a short time later.

The DPP took carriage of the Orrock matter and appealed the decision to grant him bail to the Supreme Court.

When the prosecution attempted to bring up the recent spate of drive-by shootings in south western Sydney, he was scolded by Justice Peter Garling for "grandstanding."

"This is not trial by speculation or suspicion," Justice Garling said.

Orrock's barrister Deone Provera tried to submit it was not a strong case, suggesting it may have been someone the 47-year-old knew who did it "without his knowledge or consent."

But Justice Garling noted that Orrock had handed himself in to police the day after the torching.

The Crown submitted that Orrock is "a volatile and aggressive individual", but the court heard he had no prior convictions relating to assaulting police or resisting arrest.

Justice Garling has reserved his decision on bail until Tuesday.

The former Nomads boss will remain on bail until then.

[Junior]

Trial of Hells Angels collapses
By Dan Box, The Australian
May 10, 2012

THE attempted extortion trial of five Hells Angels, including the head of its Sydney chapter, has collapsed after police failed to investigate the credibility of the alleged victim and star witness, a court has been told.

NSW police yesterday withdrew the charges against the men, which related to an alleged extortion attempt on a millionaire Sydney car dealer last year.

At least three of the accused are now expected to demand the force pay their hefty legal bills.

Defence lawyer Paul Hardin told Burwood Local Court the prosecution had failed "to properly investigate the credibility" of Sydney millionaire Terry Mullens, the critical witness. "Mr Mullens's credibility was certainly going to be the subject of vigorous attack," he said.

A separate trial last year heard allegations that Mr Mullens, a racehorse owner who runs a luxury car dealership in western Sydney, was involved in money laundering. That prosecution, into the alleged importation of 100kg of cocaine into Sydney in 2008, featured telephone intercepts recorded by the Australian Federal Police.

In these recordings, played at the trial, Mr Mullens is heard speaking to an alleged member of the drug ring, although Mr Mullens was not called as a witness, nor charged.

Mr Mullens, who has previously said he is a businessman of good character, did not return calls yesterday.

In yesterday's aborted prosecution, the five Hells Angels were charged with attempting to extort a silver BMW from Mr Mullens in July last year.

The gang members -- Felix Lyle, Mostafa Jouayde, Selim Kocak, Jeffry Sahyoun and Nonda Stamatakis -- had pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutor Daniel McMahon yesterday said police had decided to withdraw all charges.

[Junior]

Australia bike gang violence poses 'growing menace'
By Phil Mercer, BBC News, Sydney, May 17, 2012

A smouldering feud between motorcycle gangs in Australia is a step away from an all-out war, according to one of the country's most senior former police officers.

In recent weeks there have been multiple shootings in Sydney blamed on the gangs.

Homes have been sprayed with gunshots while children have slept inside, and there have been several related shootings in South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.

Clive Small, a retired assistant commissioner of New South Wales, said they were part of a fight for control of the amphetamine and weapons trade, as well as competition for new recruits and extortion rackets.

He said that if a truce was not put in place soon, then the power struggle could intensify into a far more bloody conflict.

"One side will say 'hang on, we've had enough', and they'll negotiate a peace deal," Mr Small explained.

"The other situation is that we could see a loose bullet being fired into a house and hitting the family of a bikie member, particularly if it was a child.

"I think that would push it over the brink and then we'd be looking at a more substantial escalation of the situation, perhaps even a war."

'Growing menace'

It is estimated there are 35 "outlaw" motorcycle groups in Australia with 3,500 "patched" or official members. Since the 1980s there have been about 100 biker killings across the country and 1,000 shootings.

The epicentre of the current outbreak of violence is Sydney, where there have been more than 60 drive-by shootings so far this year.

Detectives mostly blame them on a dispute between the Hells Angels and the Nomads.

Clive Small charts the tensions back to the infamous Milperra massacre in 1984, when six bikers were shot dead in a pub car park in Sydney, while a teenage girl was killed in the crossfire.

Since then, he said, the motorcycle gangs had "really grown as a menace". Traditional criminal codes where families were never targeted had been abandoned by "nasty, violent people."

In 2009, members of the Commancheros clashed with Hells Angels at Sydney Airport, where one man was beaten and stabbed to death in front of dozens of horrified passengers.

"They (gang members) do look hard but they are generally family men - but you wouldn't want to cross them," said Macca, a long-time resident of Sydney's Kings Cross district, a hub of the city's illicit drug industry.

"They can be really dangerous. I seen a bloke get axed across the back of the neck. He died. Seen a couple of blokes get chopped up (with knives) and left in dumpsters."

'Clear message'

The authorities have put some measures in place to try to curb the violence. New laws have made it illegal to wear certain biker "patches" or insignia in Kings Cross.

And New South Wales state premier Barry O'Farrell says the gangs must not be allowed to act with impunity.

"This is about sending a clear message that… wearing bikie colours doesn't make you a superhero that protects you from the long arm of the law," he said.

"Equally, this is about… giving the police the tools they need to tackle the shooting spree that's affecting our city."

Several Australian states have also introduced legislation that would criminalise membership and association with biker gangs, although previous attempts have been struck down by the High Court.

But Randall "Animal" Nelson, a founding member of the Kings Cross Bikers Social and Welfare Club, which does charity work for people with disabilities, hospital patients and prisoners, believes the bikers are being unfairly castigated for the spate of shootings in Sydney.

"Propaganda is a big thing," he said. "Whatever the police say, the people believe. Most media have blown it out of proportion."

"All they want to hear is blood and guts. They don't hear the good things bikers do. Thousands of bikers do thousands of things for thousands of people."

He said criminal elements with no biker affiliations were to blame and that gang members were being victimised because of their reputation and distinctive clothing.

But author Ross Coulthart believes outlaw gangs in Australia are responsible for an increasingly brutal fight over multi-million dollar drug rackets.

"These battles are nothing new," he said of the recent violence in Sydney.

"(But) what is disturbing about what is happening now is previously if a bikie had a gripe with a bikie, it would be two blokes with guns and one would come away dead or with holes in him."

"The phenomenon now is for people to get a machine gun and spray the front of a house," he said.

[Junior]

Hells Angels' HQ raided in crime crackdown
By Megan Levy and Nino Bucci, The Age
Monday, July 30, 2012

Police raided the clubhouse of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang in Melbourne's east this afternoon.

A police spokeswoman said detectives from Taskforce Echo executed a search warrant at the clubhouse and at a neighbouring property on Heidelberg Road in Alphington.

Residents have reported a large number of police officers at the clubhouse conducting the raid, which began about midday.

The spokeswoman said the raid was part of an ongoing investigation into alleged drug offences, and followed similar raids last week at properties in Narre Warren, Mordialloc, Hampton Park, Cranbourne and Cranbourne East.

Detectives were still searching the Hells Angels clubhouse in Alphington and a neighbouring property at 2.30pm today.

Echo Taskforce Detective Acting Inspector Dave De Francesco said a small amount of white powder, cannabis and a handgun had been found at the properties.

A 68-year-old man who is a long standing Hells Angels member is in custody.

Detective Acting Inspector De Francesco said the warrants executed this morning were linked to a number of similar raids last week which allegedly uncovered several items including a pipebomb.

He said the 68-year-old was inside at the time of the raid but there had not been any confrontation with police.

"In terms of entry there was no issues," he said.

"The investigation was in relation to a number of persons who are in custody at the moment and were arrested last week. One of those is a Hells Angels patched member whose currently in custody in relation to drugs and firearms charges.

"The investigation has been quite broad, it’s been going on for some time, and a pipebomb was amongst a number of other items, drugs and firearms, that were seized last week. That included a clandestine laboratory.’’

The raids last week were in Mordialloc, Cranbourne, Cranbourne East, Hampton Park and Narre Warren. The pipebomb and laboratory were allegedly uncovered at the Hampton Park property.

Police are still searching the Alphington properties.

Taskforce Echo was formed in February 2011 to target outlaw motorcycle gangs.

In May, taskforce members uncovered a $6 million hydroponic drug crop during a raid on a Lara property.

Several people were arrested and charged after last week’s raids, including a member of the Hells Angels.