The Gold Coast Bulletin

Suburb has had a gutful of hooning

- KIRSTIN PAYNE kirsten.payne@news.com.au

NERANG residents say they tired of being terrorised by the fame-hungry hoons after months of threats and harassment.

Police allege they nabbed the ringleader­s of brazen group Mexican Hoon Cartel on Tuesday, arresting two 18-year-olds, for hooning and criminal offences.

Members of the group, who post videos of their Gold Coast hooning online to their 15,000 followers, are also being investigat­ed for threats to the community.

Police allege the group has followed community members home and later targeted their addresses.

“Early investigat­ions are taking place into when some of the threats have occurred,” Senior Sergeant Mat Kelly officer in charge of Gold Coast RAP said yesterday.

“We believe more arrests are likely to follow,” he said.

Police are also investigat­ing a vandal attack on Gilston State School, which left doors smashed and the buildings covered in insignia.

The terms “Gilston will never learn” and “MHC” were sprayed on to the campus on Monday.

Police would not confirm if the incident was linked to the Mexican Hoon Cartel.

A resident who would not be named said those affiliated with the group were responsibl­e for more than “black marks on the road”.

“You don’t shit in your own back yard, we have had enough,” he said.

“The community is very angry, especially when they found out they are local.

“Children and women are scared.

“Hooning in cars is one thing – we have all done stupid things as kids – but terrorisin­g the neighbourh­ood and vandalisin­g is another.

“Every gang in the world looks after their own turf and where they grew up.”

In a brazen response to the dawn arrests on Tuesday, the MHC responded online.

“When bringing down the Mexican Hoon Cartel it helps to sting people that are actually in it,” the post read.

In an earlier post the group claims it had nothing to do with the vandalism at the Gilston State School over the weekend, and condemned the act.

“It has been brought to our attention that a person or a group of people who are not a part of the Mexican Hoon Cartel have vandalised a Gold Coast school,” the post read.

“We would like to inform you that this sort of behaviour is totally unacceptab­le and goes against everything we stand for.

“Being the sort of group that we are we understand that we will receive negative attention from countless varieties of people, groups and the media.

“However vandalism is not something we condone nor take part in and is something we definitely do not want tied to our name.”

 ??  ?? A post by the Mexican Hoon Cartel of a burnout and (inset) some of the graffiti at Gilston State School which the group denies they are responsibl­e for.
A post by the Mexican Hoon Cartel of a burnout and (inset) some of the graffiti at Gilston State School which the group denies they are responsibl­e for.
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia