Australasian Biker News
March 27, 2008 03:25pm
On yer bikes! Order could see gangs flee to Coast
Tony Wilson
27Mar08
BIKIES fleeing South Australia's ban on their gangs' existence could be
on their way to the Gold Coast, says a senior police officer from South
Australia.
SA's Crime Gangs Task Force commander Superintendent Des Bray said there
was a strong relationship between South Australian bikies and their Gold
Coast counterparts.
"There have already been several (bikies) who have left the state and
some are known to have gone to Sydney, but if they have chapters on the
Gold Coast, there is no reason why they wouldn't go there when we
enforce the new legislation," he told The Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday.
The bold legislation, which passed through the South Australian
Parliament yesterday, follows SA Premier Mike Rann declaring bikie gangs
were 'terrorists within our community'.
Billed as the toughest anti-bikie legislation in the Western world, the
new laws will declare a bikie gang as an outlawed organisation and its
assets will be confiscated, even their Harley-Davidsons.
Once these gangs are declared outlawed, police will be able to seek
court orders to prevent gang members meeting or communicating with one
another and ban any gatherings or group runs.
Supt Bray said there were eight bikie gangs that would be targeted,
involving about 200 full members.
"Once they cannot meet or communicate, they will go elsewhere," he said.
The SA gangs targeted include the Finks, Rebels and Bandidos, which all
have clubhouses on the Gold Coast, plus the Hells Angels, who have a
chapter based at Browns Plains.
In March last year, 35 Finks and 15 Hells Angels were involved in an
infamous 'ballroom blitz' during a kickboxing tournament at Royal Pines
Resort, with six shots fired and three people injured.
Three of the Angels and a number of Finks involved were from their
Adelaide chapters.
Police Minister Judy Spence said the Queensland Government would
consider proposals put forward by the South Australian Government to
tackle the problem of outlaw bikie gangs in Australia.
Ms Spence said the legislative changes discussed at yesterday's
high-powered law and order council meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand,
consisting of police ministers and their representatives from across
Australia, the Commonwealth and New Zealand, would be assessed and
reviewed for consideration in Queensland.
"As a member of the Australasian Police Ministers Council I have
supported recommendations for each jurisdiction to adopt as a minimum
standard legislative provision to assist in the dismantling and
disruption of outlaw motorcycle gangs' organised crime," she said.
"I also supported the recommendation for a review by the Ministerial
Council for Corporations, of the existing restrictions placed upon
directors of companies to identify opportunities to prevent organised
criminals from managing corporations.
"As these outlaw bikie gangs are not restricted by state or even
international borders, it is essential we take a nationwide approach to
cracking down on these criminal thugs," she said.
"We have always considered any proposals put forward by our interstate
counterparts on this issue and we will watch closely the application of
new laws in South Australia to see if they might be an appropriate
measure to introduce in Queensland." Ms Spence said the Government
needed to be sure the South Australian legislation was effective and had
appropriate safeguards before such measures were considered for
Queensland.
"We have shown we are serious about tackling outlaw bikie gangs and our
initiative to provide $2 million last year to set up a Queensland Police
Service Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Task Force has been widely praised by
other states," she said.
"In the past 11 months, our outlaw motorcycle gang task force has
conducted over 25 operations - resulting in the arrest of 113 offenders
on 342 charges including trafficking, production and possession of
dangerous drugs. Further joint operations have resulted in the arrests
of 71 offenders on 212 charges."
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