Australian feeder gangs ‘flying under radar’, expert warns

Mexican Soldiers, Muslim Brotherhood Movement, Red Devils, Southside soldiers and Mounty County. These young gangs — which act as feeder groups for outlaw motorcycle clubs — are full of individuals who haven’t yet joined the “big league” of the Rebels and Bandidos.

Their crimes are relatively minor and members tend to “fly under the radar” but there are fears without intervention it is only a matter of time before they start to flex their muscles.

 

Dr Terry Goldsworthy, of Bond University, has seen first-hand what can happen if gangs are allowed to establish a stronghold.

A 28-year policeman and former Detective Inspector, he spent eight years in charge of the CIB on the Gold Coast.

He said there was no doubt some members of feeder clubs went on to bigger criminal careers, although it was difficult to pinpoint exactly how many

“Because there is that gang culture and they progress when they get older,” he said.

Yesterday, police in New South Wales carried out a series of dawn raids on properties in Sydney’s southwest, making arrests they hope will crush the Assyrian Kings or DLASTHR, a gang that has created havoc for 20 years.

The gang was blamed for the brutal murder of a young policeman in 1997, David Carty, 25, who was attacked and mutilated in a car park.

 

Dr Goldsworthy said there had been a suggestion from Queensland police that gangs had been active in recruiting from feeder clubs, like the Red Devils feeding into Hells Angels.

That state has been plagued by gang trouble in recent years as feeder gangs have been blamed for wild street brawls and intimidating locals. Tough new laws have since been introduced to stamp out gangs and wipe out organised crime.

Many Australians wouldn’t be aware of the feeder gangs and the potential threat they posed.

“I think they do tend to go under the radar. They’re not seen as the same time of criminal threat [because] they tend to be younger and may not have a criminal history yet — and to put it another way, may not yet have developed their skills.”

But it didn’t always stay that way.

“Certainly you can see a progression from minor offences — you see it from established criminals that start with minor stuff and slowly ratchet it up. People who go from feeder gangs to major gangs are exposed to that.”

 

 

Dr Goldsworthy thought the answer was to watch what crimes were being committed and “police them rigorously”.

“If you do those basic things you make things uncomfortable for them and very quickly puts pressure on them to stay apart. You don’t want them getting bigger and bigger and more powerful you want to step on them.”

He pointed to the Bikies on the Gold Coast who became more and more involved and, “you saw so what happened at Broadbeach.”

The traditional bikie clubs are quite overt with their uniforms, bikes and colours but the emerging gangs are a little harder to spot.

“They do fly under the radar because they’re not in uniform and clothing you don’t notice who they are.”

They usually lack a formal hierarchy and were far more loosely organised than traditional bikie gangs.

 

 

The usual MO was to start quietly.

“Assaults occur, low level drug dealing, unarmed robbery. It starts out with that but if they’re predisposed to that it increases to the more serious.

“They tend to try and claim a patch or turf — even sometime using the name of the area or even the postcode as a gang calling card.”

He predicted trouble if they became too much of a threat.

“I don’t think the bikie gangs would let them develop into too much of a threat ... I think they’re happy to keep them around as some sort of adjunct to recruit from, to do some of their crimes or assist with their criminal activities.”

But the gang Notorious showed what could happen.

“They sort of came from nowhere … potential is there you look at the main gangs and the ones off to the side, if you don’t focus on them they’re going to keep growing. It’s like weeds — if you don’t pick them they just get bigger and bigger.”

 

 

Last year, a national gang taskforce was formed which has meant greater coordination and boosted capability for police throughout Australia.

Asked about the feeder groups Detective Superintendent Nigel Ryan said: “People grow attracted to the alternative option. They consider themselves disenfranchised people — usually younger men — who are looking for something different, who like and can play into the larger and I guess riskier groups.’’

Today, The Daily Telegraph reported concerns from a former police commissioner, Ken McKay, that the current gang atmosphere could create a new wave of ethnic-based criminal gangs in Sydney.

In New South Wales last year, the Brothers 4 Life gang emerged and was thought to be behind a wave of shootings. It differed from traditional gangs, in that it had a loose structure, with police believing it was made up of friends and relatives who had sworn loyalty to founder Bassam Hamzy.

 

 

 

GANGS ON THE RISE

Mexican soldiers

* Based in Queensland, members as young as 16 have been arrested for a range of offences, including trafficking drugs and extorting money

 

Muslim Brotherhood Movement

* A gang that grew quickly and recruited mainly from Sydney’s south-western suburbs, it was largely taken off the streets after a series of police raids in 2011.

 

The Red Devils

* Acts as a feeder group for the Hells Angels gang.

 

Southside Soldiers

* A Gold Coast based feeder group that was linked with a violent pub brawl in January. Police in Queensland have targeted Southside Soldiers members, and those from other feeder groups, to try to stop the next generation of gangs.

 

Mounty County

* Based in the Mt Druitt, Sydney, area, they are a group of gangs that unite when they believe they need to protect their turf.