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Police raid bikie gang HQ, strip the joint

 

F'king prick cops...

HIDDEN away in a Boolaroo industrial park, this had been the little oasis enjoyed by leather-clad lads and their mates for 40 years.

Until yesterday.

Lake Macquarie detectives, along with the specialist bikie crime squad Strike Force Raptor, raided the Life and Death bikie gang’s clubhouse following an investigation into alcohol being illegally supplied at the premises.

And citing the Restricted Premises Act (1943), police seized absolutely everything in the place except a Harley-Davidson motorcycle believed to belong to the chapter president.

That meant everything was stripped. From the bar and its fridges to the stage, the alcohol and  the collection of bikie paraphernalia; it was all taken away as part of the investigation.

The raid is the second on a Lake Macquarie chapter in three months, after the Rebels’ clubhouse at Morisset was cleaned out in November.

* * * 

THE alleged masters have taken a hit from their sworn enemies.

The jewel in the crown of the Life and Death bikie gang’s chapter in Lake Macquarie since 1973, the immaculately presented Boolaroo clubhouse, has again been returned to an industrial shed following a police raid yesterday.

An investigation into alcohol being illegally sold and supplied at the clubhouse prompted a large team of officers, including the crack bikie crime squad Strike Force Raptor, to converge on the Creek Reserve Road joint to shut it down.

And that they did.

Citing the Restricted Premises Act (1943) and the Environmental Planning and Assessments Act (1979) relating to the original development application, Lake Macquarie detectives applied and were granted a search warrant on the shed.

They were also given the power to take everything out of the place.

Nothing was off limits.

So from the impressive-looking bar, the just as eyecatching oversized artwork of a nude woman, the huge stage and all in-between were slowly taken down.

There were more than 400 bottles of beer and spirits – Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Canadian Club for starters.

There were the personalised barrels used as tables, the bar stools and the fridges the grog came in.

There was even the plastic chairs and seats with heat warmers and ashtrays.

And then there was the bikie paraphernalia.

The huge Life and Death sign that stood sentinel over the bar, the rough messages adorning most walls.

The Newcastle Herald understands many of the club’s members’ colours – their leather jackets clad with club insignias – had been stored at the clubhouse and were also seized.

As was one of the original leather jackets from the first chapter way back when.

The club can apply to have possessions returned.

But what was left was just a shell of the old clubhouse.

Rubble sat in one corner where the stage once stood.

The bar was just some painted concrete blocks.

The mezzanine level, where the older members are believed to have sat to look over the rest, remained because there were fears the shed could collapse.

As did at least one room upstairs.

And the police left one other thing – the chapter president’s Harley Davidson.

But there were also a few surprises.

Like the sawn-off shotgun and pistol hidden in the roof upstairs with some ammunition for another weapon, and the .22 calibre rifle found elsewhere.

They also seized $2500 in cash and paperwork about how to run the bar.

‘‘This should be seen in the strongest possible terms – we will continue to focus on OMCGs  [outlaw motorcycle gangs] and their activities,’’ Lake Macquarie local area commander Superintendent Brett Greentree said.

The raid is the second in three months, after the Rebels bike gang’s clubhouse at Morisset received similar attention in November.

Police rescue squad officers used a circular saw to cut their way into the shed about 11am yesterday.

No members were at the clubhouse when police arrived, however several people arrived and watched on.

Superintendent Greentree said there was no licence for the premises to supply alcohol and investigations would continue into individual sanctions.

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