Some of the biggest biker clubs were hit by police raids — including Bandidos, Mongols and 33 Hells Angels charged for a public brawl with tourists. The Finks and Head Hunters were hit too — it’s the strange “bikie life” in Australia and New Zealand.
The Mob Reporter here with news of fresh boisterous antics Down Under, where there is always something strange or outrageous going on. Although biker culture was imported from America, between the hyper-aggressive stance of the cops, the crowded, shifting motorcycle club environment and the flamboyance of some of its members, the biker scene Down Under sometimes seems a world apart from their brother bikers. Or bikies as they call them.
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club was hit with raids and arrests in Australia over several days, from June 21 to June 24, 2021, in an ongoing campaign against outlaw bikers. The Raptor Squad, a specialized police unit targeting bikers, arrested 10 people, five of them members of Bandidos in New South Wales, a large region that includes Australia’s largest and most famous city, Sydney. Some of them were hauled in still wearing their Bandidos colors.
June began in Australia with Finks being busted. Three senior members were arrested June 3 for an alleged extortion of a Sydney pawnbroker. Police say a 25-year-old man pawned a motorcycle, jewelry, and a boat and in April, three different men came in demanding the items. Allegedly, the guy who pawned the stuff had left the Finks and the club believed the club an “exit fee” to leave. Under arrest is the alleged president, vice-president, and sergeant-at-arms of a Finks chapter, including Eamon Mulgrew, a model, fitness buff and would-be actor.
In New Zealand, three serious outlaw motorcycle clubs were hit by significant arrests. New Zealand is also an island nation and is 1,200 miles east of Australia, but because of the remoteness of the area, they remain close and share much, culturally, economically, and criminally.
The very first chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club outside of California was started in New Zealand, back in 1961. It is perhaps a bit in that original old-school vibe of anti-social spirit that an incredible number of Hell Angels members were allegedly involved with civilians in the Vegas of New Zealand. It took more than a month of investigation and a series of search warrants for police to pull their allegations together, with arrests coming in two waves, 11 on June 28 and 12 more on June 30.
A feud between the Mongols and the Head Hunters in New Zealand also drew a lot of heat for New Zealand bikers.
A police operation on June 29, 2021, saw 19 people arrested in response to a tit-for-tat between the two clubs stretching back to April. Of the 19 arrested, seven are members of associates of the Mongols; six of them are members of the Head Hunters; a further six associates of the Head Hunters, police said.
The Head Hunters are a home-grown New Zealand outfit, founded back in 1967 as a street gang that evolved into a biker club.
Earlier this month, the Head Hunters were linked to a seizure of a modest arsenal that stemmed from the international police operation of ANOM encrypted communications devices.
Here is a link to the AN0M case: https://youtu.be/sg1FbtXYvK8
Australia - MR.
Comments
Post a Comment