Outlaw bikies get a
Police out in force in crackdown
A CONVOY of high-ranking bikies who rolled into Townsville at the weekend were met by a swarm of police and several fines, as cops crack down on the outlaw gangs in the North.
Officers from the Brisbane Taskforce Maxima joined police from the Northern Organised Crime Gangs Group on Saturday as a group of Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG) members gathered at the Ross Island Hotel for an event.
This is the second time in six months that Rebels OMCG has converged on the Railway Estate watering hole for an event.
Northern Major Organised Crime Squad officer-incharge Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Watts said bikies were a threat to safety with a group of Townsville gang members on the radar of police.
“On Saturday, May 15, police undertook actions to ensure OMCG members complied with consorting legislation requirements due to the propensity for breaches occurring at a OMCG related event,” Detective Senior Sergeant Watts said.
“Brisbane-based Taskforce Maxima members attended Townsville to assist local police in ensuring consorting requirements were complied with and no associated offending occurred.”
At least 15 uniformed and plain clothes officers could be seen around the hotel.
This included two officers at the main door checking patrons as they entered and two at the back. The officers came in both marked and unmarked cars in the morning, where they camped out for the day.
As a result, 17 traffic fines and a number of consorting notices were issued.
In 2016, it became illegal for gang members to wear their club colours in public, and for a person to consort with two or more convicted offenders if they’ve previously been warned. The new consorting offence also allows police to search a person they reasonably suspect has consorted, is
consorting or is likely to consort with one or more recognised offenders.
In November, more than 60 fines were dished out when members of the Rebels OMCG met at the same hotel on the day of a tattoo show.
Sources told the Townsville Bulletin at the time that multiple chapter presidents were at the event “pushing boundaries” in North Queensland.
Detective Senior Sergeant Watts said his team targeted bikies with “ongoing disrup
tion and investigative strategies”. “The Organised Crime Gangs Group work with local police in close collaboration with other jurisdictions and partner agencies to monitor and target OMCGS on an ongoing basis. “Any person who
has any information in relation to the activities or membership of outlaw motorcycle gangs are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 as any information provided assists police in making Queensland safer.”