OPEN warfare between bikie gangs has returned to the Gold Coast, after two Finks armed with baseball bats bashed a Hells Angel member in the ritzy Varsity Lakes restaurant precinct.
The Gold Coast Bulletin has learned the Hells Angel bikie was forced to jump in a nearby lake and swam away after the ugly confrontation in front of shocked cafe workers and staff about 6.15pm on Monday.
Residents fear a turf war has begun in the central Coast suburbs of Robina and Burleigh as they take video footage and report increased sightings of patched gang members to their State MPs.
Taskforce Maxima commander Detective Superintendent Mick Niland indicated initial inquiries suggested the Hells Angel member was chased about 60 metres by two offenders who had assaulted him with baseball bats.
Supt Niland confirmed no complaint had been made to police but officers were continuing to investigate and hoped to obtain CCTV footage with the aim of charging offenders with “going armed to cause fear in a public place”.
“This incident is concerning in that we have not seen or heard of this type of OMCG violence in a public place for the past couple of years,” Supt Niland said.
“There has been an absence of this public violence by OMCG, so we are keen to identify the offenders and place them before the court.”
Earlier this month a Bulletin report revealed the Finks had re-emerged as a power player, with police confirming rival gang the Bandidos were planning a major comeback on the Coast.
Officers from Taskforce Maxima were arresting patched members every few days and as gangs were prepared to be “out loud and proud” they would be “smashed” by police.
The fight this week along Varsity Parade follows another stand-off, with fists flying between a Mongol and Hells Angel at Robina Town Centre earlier this month.
A Varsity Lakes shop staffer told the Gold Coast Bulletin: “We think the incident first started in the CBD area. Everyone is talking about it. They started an argument and one of the men went into the lake near the Lake Café.”
A bikies source revealed the fight involved a member of the Finks and two Hells Angels, with one of them well known in the area.
“They set him up. He turned to run away but another one was behind him. They took him on with baseball bats,” the source said.
“They didn’t have their patches on because their shirts were off. He had to jump in the lake to swim away.
“The warfare is on.”
Burleigh-based MP Michael Hart said he had been receiving increased reports of sightings of bikies wearing their patches.
“We are definitely seeing an increase in their presence around here and especially of them wearing their colours again,” Mr Hart said.
“Residents are seeing bikies ride more with their colours on.
“The feedback we are getting is they are just waiting on the Labor Government to water down the (VLAD) laws.
“They are making sure their ground is maintained.
“As soon as the laws change they will be back in.”
Mr Hart said a new chapter of Hells Angels attempted to establish a base in Burleigh several years ago but the members abandoned their fortified clubhouse in Lemana Lane in December 2013 after the police RAP squad began its operations.
Mudgeeraba-based MP Ros Bates said residents in her Hinterland electorate were reporting sightings of “bikies popping their heads up again”.
“I had a resident who had Go-Pro footage. I asked him to take it to the police station,” Ms Bates told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
“The footage showed two Comancheros riding down Reedy Creek Rd with their patches on. “They know don’t get arrested if there is two of them.”
Ms Bates said recent police raids on Hinterland properties which netted sawn-off shotguns and the drug “ice” showed how bikies had moved away from the tourist strip.
“We have acreage blocks and long battle-axe blocks where they cook it and no one can smell it,” Ms Bates said.
“They’re not cooking it in Surfers Paradise units any more.”