Australia - ~Two of nation's most powerful outlaw bikie gangs will not be stopped from setting up in Victoria~
TWO of the nation's most powerful outlaw bikie gangs will not be stopped from setting up clubhouses and operations in Victoria.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said he could not stop the influx of "one percenter" clubs like the Finks and Comancheros.
"There is no law that actually stops people or organisations from coming to Victoria and setting up," Mr Overland said. But if police got evidence that bikies were behaving criminally they would arrest them, charge them and put them before the courts.
He added: "I know people don't like outlaw motorcycle gangs. I know people are worried about them. But a lot of them don't pose that much of a criminal threat.
"Some don't pose any criminal threat," he said.
The Herald Sun revealed that police had confirmed the two gangs were setting up their first chapters in Victoria and looking for clubhouse premises in Richmond or Port Melbourne.
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Senior members of the Finks were among 41 people charged after a two-year probe into Gold Coast organised crime which ended this month.
The joint operation by Queensland Police and the Australian Crime Commission targeted the alleged large-scale production, supply and trafficking of drugs by Finks members.
The 160 charges laid included serious drug offences, extortion, grievous bodily harm and possession of restricted weapons.
A federal MP and former Victoria Police organised crime squad detective said yesterday Victoria was "the place to be if you're a bikie".
Jason Wood, a member of the joint parliamentary committee which examined organised crime and the ACC, said there was no doubt bikies from other states were heading for Victoria.
"The bikies have said they'll be heading to Victoria, and the reason is because without anti-association laws it's the weak link in Australia," Mr Wood said.
He said other police commissioners had told the committee they backed the tough new laws enacted or planned in most states to disrupt and dismantle the gangs.
Mr Overland said the person who leaked a confidential police intelligence alert about the Finks and the Comancheros to the Herald Sun was guilty of a criminal offence.
"We will now investigate that. If I find the person, they can expect to be charged, and if they're convicted ... I would expect them to be dismissed," he said.
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