Toowoomba bikies prepare to hand in their patches
f me , shows how little the cops do most of the time if they have time to do this shit doesnt it....
TOOWOOMBA members of Life and Death Motorcycle Club have been told to either hand in their club patches or go to jail.
Chapter president Tony "Bones" Lowe expected to renounce his membership to the club today in a bid to avoid imprisonment.
He sold his business Gatton Tattoos to his son last week as new bikie laws made it illegal for any member of 26 outlaw clubs to work at a tattoo parlour.
The shop has been under continuous police surveillance since Thursday.
His house has also been under watch with officers "taking details of any cars coming and going".
"Bones" and his partner spent the weekend in Brisbane, but received regular reports from customers and friends about the strong police presence.
A barrister has told members to publicly quit the club, though further advice is expected today.
"My blokes don't deserve to get 25 or 15 years' for nothing... they've got families," Bones said.
"I wouldn't really tell any of them they can't leave, because I don't want to see them locked up."
"To actually fight it would cost us $70,000.
"They're saying we've got all this illegal money.
"If we were a criminal organisation, we could afford the lawyers to do it.
"I've got no rights now.
"It's amazing for Australia in 2013... you think that if you don't break the law, you've got nothing to worry about.
"Well I don't, and I've got plenty to worry about."
Darling Downs district crime group officer Detective Acting Inspector Paul McCusker said stake-outs at known bikie stamping grounds would continue.
The State Government's new Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment laws make it illegal for motorcycle gang associates to enter clubhouses or meet in groups of three or more.
Three members have left their motorcycles at Life and Death's James St clubhouse, but will face mandatory six-month jail terms if they set foot on the premises to retrieve them.
"We are now duty-bound and we will be enforcing the powers and the legal requirements of the acts," Det. Act. Insp. McCusker said.
Life and Death's logo patch features a heart punctured by a sword, with a snake around it and the words "Live to Ride".