US bikies patch over NZ gang: expert

THE Outlaws - the oldest outlaw motorcycle club in the world - made the move over the weekend, University of Canterbury gang researcher and lecturer Dr Jarrod Gilbert says.

The local gang was established in 1968 and previously had friendly relations but no formal affiliation with its international namesake, he said.

 

The international Outlaws were established in Illinois in 1935 and now have chapters around the world.

 

Dr Gilbert, in a blog published on Monday, said the new gang had plans to start a supporter club under the name Black & White 15, derived from its colours and the letter O being the 15th in the alphabet.

 

Napier police were unaware of the development, a spokeswoman told AAP.

 

Police national headquarters were unwilling to comment on Dr Gilbert's claims.

 

Dr Gilbert said the Outlaws' move was part of a "resurgent" gang scene in New Zealand.

 

Earlier this year, he said another international bikie gang, Bandidos, had expanded from Auckland into Christchurch, by patching over the local gang Rock Machine, and gang wars were inevitable.

 

Dr Gilbert said with the Outlaws, Bandidos and Hells Angels, New Zealand now boasted three of the world's largest bikie gangs.