‘We’ll bust the bikies’

THE Tweed’s top cop has a blunt message to the outlaw motorcycle gangs his team is trying to dismantle – our crusade will not be shortlived.

Tweed Byron Local Area Commander Detective Superintendent Wayne Star- ling said police were determined to address a perception that bikies were a problem in northern NSW.

And to do that, it would mean more raids by armed police into the homes of gang members.

Northern NSW police issued a warning to one bikie and busted an associate with drugs and a rifle scope during a number of raids on Tuesday.

The blitz was sparked by a fight last month between rival gang members at a football club.

“(We will keep going) as long as it takes,” said Det Supt Starling. “It’s not just about people feeling safe, it’s also about the perception of the community.

“We have to ensure that people don’t have the perception that crime is a problem when it’s not.

“We have to address that issue (of gangs) as we go.

“The best thing the bikies can do is stop joining outlaw motorcycle gangs and wearing badges saying they’re one per cent outside the law.”

Det Supt Starling said the blitz was the largest bikie-busting measure employed by police in the region in his time on the Tweed.

“They're targeted wherever they are. Wherever there are issues with bikies, we’ve got Raptor,” he said, referring to Strike Force Raptor, the NSW anti-bike team established by the State Crime Command’s Gaan Squad in 2009. “To my knowledge, this is the biggest push I know of (on the Tweed).”

Det Supt Starling said his officers worked closely with Queensland police, including the elite gang-crime Taskforce Maxima. The Public Order and Riot Squad and Police Dog Unit also assisted in raids this week.