Bikies will rise again

Former gang-busting boss issues post-Covid warning to state government

THE man who helped end the bikie wars on the Gold Coast says authorities need to plan now for the future because the gangs “will rise again” once Covid allows.

Ex bikie-busting boss Jim Keogh (right) said the deaths of bikie figures Shane Bowden and Shane Ross showed the bikies were still active.

“The bikies are as prevalent now as they have ever been. The lucrative market of Surfers Paradise isn’t there because of Covid, but it will bounce back and they will return,” said Mr Keogh, who retired four years ago. “You only have to look at the death of Mr Bowden and the deaths out the back of Burleigh. You’d have to live under a rock not to realise they are flourishing.

“The motive behind it will revert back to territorial ownership. The key here is to see it coming and not have another Broadbeach brawl. “Their business model has changed from the open, bravado presence to a more covert presence. They are driven by greed to control the market and egos the size of mass trucks. They’ll rise again.”

Former superintendent Keogh had a long history patrolling the Gold Coast, including dealing with the city’s crime during the 2000s before returning to lead the Rapid Action Patrol (RAP) squad. The RAP cracked down on gangs, drug traffickers and lower-level street crime following the Broadbeach brawl in 2013.

The fight between the Bandidos and Finks associates outside a Broadbeach bar led to the Newman government launching its tough VLAD laws.

“The bikies became very territorial,” Mr Keogh said.

“The Finks had Surfers, the Bandidos had Broadbeach and then there was also a buy-in from the Hells Angels.

“Everybody wanted a piece, particularly the entertainment industry ... because of the drug market attached. When I came back, the Bandidos had tried to surge on the Finks and there was territorial warfare between the clubs.”

The VLAD laws cleared bikie clubhouses and Mr Keogh said the political stance was needed.

“(The bikies) had cemented control. It needed political muscle and the government under Campbell Newman brought in the harshest bikie laws, to their credit. They didn’t just bring in regulation but also brought in financial resources and funded organised units to take on the problem.”

Mr Keogh said the state government needed to look at what worked in the past to plan for the future.

“It’s a battle you’ll never win but a fight you need to keep having,” he said.

“You need to work on it daily and get resources to help that. When you think it’s peaceful, that’s when you’ll have an assassination in the backyard on the Gold Coast or in West Burleigh.

“That’s what happens when your foot is off the throttle.

“As you emerge from Covid you’d want all your ducks in order. This is not about living on a day-by-day basis, rather starting to predict what is going to happen.”