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Raids made under cover of fog
By Paul Anderson and Anthony Dowsley
May 19, 2005
From:
FOG provided the perfect cover - and crack Special Operations Group police
provided the muscle.
In one of the biggest series of raids in Victoria, SOG officers backed by more
than 200 uniformed police and local detectives burst into dozens of bikie
properties shouting: "Don't move!"
They went through doors with battering rams affectionately referred to as "12lb
keys".
They also went through a brick wall with the help of an explosive charge.
Police often swoop in the early morning when suspects are at their most
vulnerable.
Yesterday's raids, as part of Operation Jawed, were no exception.
And they had the desired result: 12 arrests and the seizure of guns, ammunition,
drugs, cars, boats and other stolen property to the tune of half a million
dollars.
"It was one of the biggest operations involving raids, apart from maybe drug
squad operations, that I can remember," a senior officer said.
The morning started with rolling pre-dawn briefings at the Moorabbin police
complex, where officers were told of a six-month investigation into a string of
boat and caravan thefts, and a possible car re-birthing scam.
Several suspects were nominated. The officers were then dispatched to specific
addresses.
The SOG, specialists in infiltrating fortified motorcycle gang compounds, found
that a knock on the door at the Outlaws' headquarters in Hastings was not going
to gain them entry.
So they blew a hole in the wall by using an explosive charge.
The SOG also smashed their way into another bikie compound in Hoppers Crossing.
That compound was left with a desperate need for a new front door.
The raids - across 16 suburbs from Hastings to Werribee - hit properties owned
or linked to the Outlaws motorcycle gang.
"This was the arrest phase of the operation and it's the icing on the cake,"
Insp Brett Guerin said.
"It went really smoothly, especially with the logistical challenge presented by
involving 200 people in the raids.
"Operations are judged on how we minimise or avoid force. No person was injured,
including any of the suspects."
As police interviewed those arrested, a bricklayer was busy repairing a large
hole in the wall of the Outlaws' compound in Glendale Rd, Hastings.
Nearby, a caravan sat peeled open like a tin can due to the force of the SOG
blast.
An Outlaws biker, who did not want to be named, said it was lucky no one was
killed. He said the explosion had penetrated two layers of brickwork.
The bikie said the SOG could have simply made a phone call and the gang would
have welcomed them in.
"We've told the police if ever they want to come in, they can come in any time
to have a look," the bikie said.
"It's crazy, especially when all they have to do is call and we'll let them in.
If anyone had have been in there they would have been dead."
An Outlaws member who lives at the compound left for work before the raid. The
bikie said gang members used the clubhouse as a meeting point to relax and
drink.
Two men were charged last night and will face the Melbourne Magistrates' Court
today.
Eight men were bailed to appear in court at later dates. The remaining two were
released but could possibly be charged on summons.
And that may not be the end of Operation Jawed.
Police said further operations and arrests could follow in the coming days or
weeks.
Police smash motorcycle gang
By Holly Lloyd-McDonald and Shelley Hodgson
May 19, 2005
From:
A MOTORCYCLE gang has been smashed in a series of raids by more than 200 police
across Melbourne yesterday.
Twelve men, aged 21 to 51, were arrested in the pre-dawn swoop on 27 properties
around Hoopers Crossing and the Mornington Peninsula, all linked to the Outlaws
motorcycle club.
Cars, firearms, boats and caravans were seized in the raids, the culmination of
a six-month investigation.
It is alleged the gang was stealing cars, boats and caravans to strip back and
re-sell.
Police used explosives to blow a hole in the heavily fortified wall of the
Hastings club to get in.
"The SOG were confronted with a brick wall . . . and they got through it," Insp
Brett Guerin said.
The Special Operations Group also smashed a door at the Hoppers Crossing
compound.
No one was hurt in the police raids.
Five cars, several deep-sea fishing boats, caravans and car parts were
impounded.
Police estimate the alleged stolen goods to be worth more than $500,000.
A cache of firearms, including seven long-arm shotguns, from sawn-offs to a
double-barrelled version, were also discovered, along with a crossbow, a
telescopic gunsight, a pump-action shotgun and a black pistol.
More than 240 police officers were involved in the huge joint effort.
The SOG was helped by the organised crime squad, detectives and uniformed
police.
A core team of 12 detectives had been watching the gang's activities in an
operation code-named Jawed.
Information had filtered through to police seven months ago.
Operation Jawed's Acting Sgt Sean Halley said the gunsight, which could be
fitted to the crossbow, could give a sniper a range of up to 300m.
Police recovered shotgun ammunition and a black woollen balaclava.
A dismantled firearm in three pieces was found hidden in a water barrel.
A small amount of cannabis was also found.
Insp Guerin said the alleged theft and rebirthing ring was blatant and brazen.
"The principal suspects in this ring are members of the motorcycle gang, the
Outlaws," he said.
The blast damaged a caravan beside the wall of the Hastings club.
A door was forcibly removed at the Hoppers Crossing club, located in a block of
factories.
Insp Guerin said SOG officers were highly trained, and always assessed the risk
before going ahead with a raid.
"Of the 27 properties entered by police, 25 were entered peacefully.
"They conduct a very thorough risk-assessment on all occasions and they use the
best and most appropriate means of entry. They're the experts," he said of the
SOG.
Insp Guerin, who alleged vehicles were stolen in daylight and boats were towed
out of people's driveways, said the operation was a success.
Late yesterday, two men were remanded in out-of-sessions hearings at Moorabbin
police station to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court today.
Brendan Wayne Peterson, 31, of Skye, has been charged with nine offences,
including burglary, theft, theft of a motor vehicle, handling stolen goods,
obtaining property by deception, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of
justice.
The charges were over about $80,000 in allegedly stolen property, the hearing
was told.
Detectives said Mr Peterson was a known member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang.
It is understood he was a past president of the movement's Peninsula chapter.
"I believe the defendant is an unacceptable risk to the community," Sen-Det Mal
Teissl told the hearing.
"Investigators believe he will endanger the safety and welfare of the public and
interfere with witnesses."
Mr Peterson was on bail already over assault and firearms offences, Sen-Det
Teissl told the hearing.
Mr Peterson said he was not guilty and did not believe that he was a risk to
anyone.
"I just want to get back on track with life, basically," Mr Peterson said.
Stephen Charles Fowler, 41, of Rye, has been charged with 14 offences, including
perjury, making threats to kill, intentionally causing serious injury, firearms
offences, burglary and theft.
Sen-Det Trevor McDonald told the hearing Mr Fowler, an Outlaws associate, had
been on a crime spree since October.
Sen-Det McDonald said that when police raided Mr Fowler's home yesterday, they
seized a firearm submerged in a water tank.
Sen-Det McDonald said detectives feared that if Mr Fowler were released on bail,
he would offend again.
They also believed he would warn others who had been implicated.
Mr Fowler said his wife had multiple sclerosis and he wanted to be with her.
"I don't know why I got myself in this predicament in the first place," Mr
Fowler said.
Eight other men were released on bail to attend court at a later date.
It is believed two men in their 30s have been released.
Police said they anticipated further arrests.