Police smash bikie thugs
POLICE have smashed patched bikie numbers almost in half, despite new gangs emerging on the Gold Coast and a recent string of violent public incidents.
They say the number of confirmed patched Outlaw Motorcycle Gang ( OMCG) members across Queensland has plunged from 1158 in late 2013 to 696 as of yesterday.
Queensland’s bikie-busting and organised crime squad boss Detective Superintendent Mick Niland released the figures, noting 182 bikies had formally disassociated from their gangs in that period, promising to cut all ties.
Other ex-members had disassociated but not formally signed the Queensland Police form, he said.
“While there are a couple more new crime gangs appearing, overall numbers are on a downward track which we are happy about and I’m sure the community is very happy about.”
New OMCG arrivals included “a handful” of Comancheros, which had established chapters in other states but not Queensland, and the emergence of New Zealand’s Black Power and Mongrel Mob just north of the Gold Coast, he said.
Det Supt Niland did not have specific numbers for the Gold Coast but said they were relatively low and he planned to keep them there.
“We want to dismantle them, we continue to do visitations and continue to do search warrants and more or less make their life miserable.”
He admitted the confirmed patched figure of 696 would fluctuate almost daily and didn’t include members police were unable to confirm or associates which would likely double the ranks.
The figures date from when the former government’s antibikie laws kicked in after the infamous Broadbeach brawl between Bandidos and police in September 2013.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor Government replaced the bikie-specific laws with legislation targeting organised crime and consorting and politicians bickered yesterday over who should take the credit.
Surfers Paradise Opposition MP John-Paul Langbroek said given a string of recent public violence linked to bikies, it was clear bikies were re-emerging on the Coast.
“If you don’t keep your foot on their neck, they re-emerge and it’s obvious they are.”
Recent bikie-linked public skirmishes include rival gang members rumbling at a Broadbeach gym during an apparent chance encounter. Also late last month, CCTV footage showed two alleged Lone Wolves members jumping out of a hotel doorway in Coolangatta and blindsiding a man walking by brutally attacking him.
“It was our laws, extra resources and closing of club houses that made the difference,” Mr Langbroek said. “We drove them out but they are potentially coming back.”
Police Minister Mark Ryan said his government’s efforts to provide state police with the powers and resources to tackle all forms of serious organised crime, including outlaw motorcycle criminal gangs, were working.
“The stronger and tougher laws targeting serious organised crime in Queensland are getting real results.”
Det Supt Niland said the slashing of patched OMCG members was due to a combination of frontline policing, community vigilance, his bikie-busting Taskforce Maxima detectives plus the old and new laws empowering police.
“This is a whole of QPS effort. It has been a relentless effort, embraced by both past legislation and new legislation and our frontline police feel empowered to take these crime gangs on – and that is very important.”
Det Supt Niland said incidents of public violence involving crime gangs on the Coast and across Queensland were “low” when compared to other parts of Australia.
“We’re only targeting 696 plus their associates which is a small amount of persons when you look at the population of the Coast and state.
“But these persons we are targeting are a high threat to the community involving drug trafficking and extortion and we will continue to target them relentlessly,” he said.