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Showing posts with label Comanchero MC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comanchero MC. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Ex-cop blasts 'Strike Force Raptor' plan

Moree, New South Wales, Australia (November 27, 2019) BTN — A former Australian detective has ridiculed National's zero-tolerance approach to gangs, saying the strategy has been a "disaster" across the ditch. The opposition party yesterday proposed setting up an elite police squad - modelled on Strike Force Raptor in New South Wales - with the sole purpose of crushing gangs.

National leader Simon Bridges repeatedly described the unit as "devastatingly effective" and referenced media reports which claimed it was driving outlaw bikies into extinction.


But former NSW detective Mike Kennedy told RNZ that was "nonsense" and Mr Bridges was "living a dream" if he believed that. "He needs to pull his head out of whatever it's stuck in because ... [gangs] exist. They're always going to exist. They just go underground. "I'm not a bleeding heart liberal," he said. "But [the zero-tolerance strategy has] just been a disaster."

Dr Kennedy spent much of his time with the police as an undercover officer working in organised crime and is now a senior lecturer at Western Sydney University. He said there was no evidence to suggest that gang numbers had fallen dramatically since the formation of Strike Force Raptor a decade ago. "Outlaw motorcycle gangs are unregulated, so how would you know?" he said. "They're not required to pay a fee ... and register with government. So any suggestion that the numbers are down is just nonsense."

Dr Kennedy said the problem had just been driven underground. "People don't stop being members of groups just because they've been arrested. They go into jail, they reinforce themselves, they come out, [and] they get more of a reason to remain in the group they're in."

Police officers needed a working relationship with communities, including gang members, so they would cooperate with investigations, he said.

"You need this community to trust you so that when things need to be brought into line, the police are able to go in and speak to people and find out who's ... behaving really badly, and who needs to be put in jail," Dr Kennedy said. "If you want those families to help the police ... then you can't just tar them all with the same brush. And that's what Raptor does."

National's law and order discussion document describes Strike Force Raptor as a "proactive, high-impact specialist unit" designed to target outlaw motorcycle gangs and associated criminal enterprises.


The elite military-style unit was set up in 2009 following a deadly clash between the Hells Angels and Comancheros at Sydney Airport. The strike force is designed to punish gang members via all legal avenues, coming after them for any infraction, no matter how minor, from a parking fine to a punch-up.

A Nine News report earlier this year stated Strike Force Raptor had made more than 5000 arrests and laid more than 12,000 charges over the past decade. The unit had also seized 1700 illegal firearms and shut down more than 50 clubhouses, it said.

NSW Police declined to provide RNZ with evidence of Strike Force Raptor's success, saying it was not "appropriate" for it to comment on a matter "out of our jurisdiction". The media team also refused to reveal the size of the unit or its annual operating cost.

Speaking to Morning Report, Mr Bridges promised the party would release figures "in the next little while" which would prove the unit's effectiveness. "We are at this moment, in fact, talking to the government in New South Wales to compile the data."

SOURCE: RNZ

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Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Police seize assets from Comanchero MC

Auckland, New Zealand (April 11, 2019) BTN — Police have seized $3.7 million in assets in a major operation across Auckland targeting a high-profile motorcycle club. Police said in a statement a year-long investigation into the activities of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club has concluded, as a number of search warrants were earlier executed.


It's understood New Zealand criminals deported from Australia were setting up a chapter here. "More than 80 police staff, including special groups such as the Armed Offenders Squad, dog section and specialist search group have been executing search warrants at seven properties throughout the Auckland region this morning," a statement from police says.

A number of people have been arrested, including "senior members and associates of the Comanchero motorcycle club," the statement says. About $3.7 million in assets have been seized, including two residential properties and several high end vehicles, including a number of Range Rovers, a Rolls Royce and two Harley Davidson motorcycles.


Motorcycle Clubs  use expensive items to "market themselves" national manager of the financial crime group Detective Superintendent Iain Chapman says. "We are determined to strip them of that wealth that we allege has come from criminal offending and take the profit out of it," he says.


A photo posted to the Facebook page "Gangs of New Zealand" in December 2017 showed five men, two of whom were wearing Comanchero paraphernalia, along with the caption:

"Comanchero New Zealand. Making moves here in Aotearoa. Respect." Chris Cahill, president of the Police Association, said at the time it's "no surprise" we may be seeing a rise in Comanchero and affiliated gangsters. "Some of these gangs are very experienced. They have international links and that's adding to the level of concern we have in gangs around New Zealand."

He says one of the major concerns with gang activity moving over from Australia is that as we are a small country, they are likely to quickly clash with other gangs as they compete for turf.

SOURCE: News Hub

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Guns, drugs and cash seized in anti-bikie sting

Sydney, Australia (March 21, 2018) BTN — Drugs, guns, and cash were seized after police raided seven outlaw motorcycle club's linked properties across Canberra on Wednesday. A 35-year-old Evatt man was charged with firearm related offences as a result of the sting, which coincided with operations interstate as part of a national day of action targeting outlaw motorcycle clubs.

ACT police chief Justine Saunders said the raids showed bikies that the capital was a hostile jurisdiction and pledged to continue to push for tough new laws targeting criminal motorcycle clubs. The ACT hosts chapters of three major outlaw clubs, the Nomads, Comanchero, and Rebels.


A feud between the Nomads and Comanchero has been blamed for tit-for-tat violence, including drive-by shootings, in Canberra's south.

Nationally, Wednesday's day of action was led by Operation Morpheus, the national Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs taskforce, while the Canberra search warrants were conducted by ACT Policing bikie busting group Taskforce Nemesis.

Police said the raids across the capital uncovered three firearms, 270 rounds of ammunition, about 28 grams of a substance believed to be methylamphetamine, about 12 grams of a substance believed to be cocaine, and more $50,000 in cash, suspected to be proceeds of crime.

In Victoria, seven people were charged with a variety of offences and police seized motorcycles, drugs, cash, computers and more than $1 million-worth of alcohol. ACT deputy chief police officer crime Mark Walters said disrupting the illegal activities of criminal gangs was a priority for ACT Policing.

"This action is just one part of our ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal gangs in our community," Commander Walters said.

"Taskforce Nemesis", supported by every ACT Policing officer, continues to focus on serious and organised crime and apply pressure to members of criminal gangs.

"We will continue to work collaboratively with our state, territory and Commonwealth partners to address the threats posed by criminal gangs."

Assistant Commissioner Justine Saunders said community safety was paramount and ACT Policing would continue to work with the ACT Government on laws to prevent and deter serious and organised crime and associated firearms related violence in the capital.

"Whilst I fully support the principles of the Human Rights Act that we operate under here in the ACT, I will continue to pursue legislative reform that is proportionate to the threat that serious and organised crime presents to our community," she said.

The 35-year-old Evatt man charged with firearms offences will appear before the ACT Magistrate's Court at a later date.

SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald