Member of Lone Wolf bikie gang on drugs, weapons charges after Gold Coast raid

POLICE have charged a member of a notorious outlaw bikie gang for weapon and drug offences after searching an Upper Coomera home yesterday. Detectives from Task Force Hydra used a search warrant at the house of Lone Wolf bikie gang member Shane Treloar about 3.15pm yesterday. In their search police allegedly found a gun, ammunition, methamphetamines and other drug utensils on the property. Mr Treloar has been charged with one count each of possession of a category D weapon, insecure storage of ammunition, possession of a dangerous drug, possession of utensils, possession of schedule drug and failure to take reasonable care of syringes. He is expected to face Southport Magistrates Court today.

19-year-old bikie gang member was arrested after police searched a house in Telopea and seized a snake, guns and drugs.

A 19-year-old bikie gang member was arrested after police searched a house in Telopea and seized a snake, guns and drugs.

 

He was arrested by the gangs squad investigators in relation to the seizure of firearms, drugs, a snake and a stolen dog from his house in April.

 

Watch raw footage of the arrest, supplied by Police Media, below:

 

 

St rike Force Raptor officers raided Adderton Road house of the man who they allege is a Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang member on Tuesday April 10.

 

They found a six-shot Ruger revolver, a six-shot Smith and Wesson revolver, about 120 rounds of ammunition and approximately one kilogram of amphetamine in a car at the house.

 

A shotgun and further amounts of prohibited drugs were found inside a garage.

 

Police said three men were arrested at the time, but released pending further inquiries.

 

Following further investigations, including forensic examination, Strike Force Raptor the 19-year-old at Willmot about 6am on Thursday June 21.

 

He was taken to Mount Druitt Police Station police said they expected to charge him with drug and firearm offences.

Bikies sweeping for police bugs

PARANOID Queensland criminals are hiring security experts to sweep their houses for bugs and other hidden police surveillance equipment, leaving detectives frustrated. They can also buy sophisticated "bug detection" kits, noise generators, hidden camera scanners and phone tap detectors online and in-store for as little as $450. While police spend months planning operations involving placement of listening devices, their targets can order kits that allow them to identify suspicious points and keep their clandestine activities under even closer wraps. Bikie gangs, such as the notorious Finks, previously have used security experts to check their homes.

Body found in shallow grave in SA forest

South Australian Police say a post-mortem examination will be carried out today on the body of a man found buried in a forest south of Adelaide. Police are investigating the discovery of the body in a shallow grave in the Kuitpo Forest. They say a person walking in the area alerted them after finding a blood-stained shirt nearby. Police say the identity of the man cannot be confirmed until they get the results of the post-mortem. It is understood they are investigating whether it is 45-year old Michael Varehov from Mawson Lakes. Police says he is missing in suspicious circumstances and believe his disappearance is linked to an assault at suburban Beaumont in Adelaide. A man has since been charged with assault. Police say a Peugeot sedan connected to Mr Varehov's disappearance was also found last night, burned out at the nearby town of Myponga.

members of the notorious Finks 'Terror Team', arrived to pay their respects.

Finks bikies at the funeral of Ned Inch, son of the club's former sergeant-at-arms Dennis Inch. Picture: Richard Gosling Source:Gold Coast Bulletin

FINKS bikies have gathered en masse on the Gold Coast at a church to farewell the son of a gang elder.

Dozens of Finks in full colours roared into the Dream Centre Church at Carrara for the funeral of Ned Inch, son of the club's former sergeant-at-arms Dennis Inch.

Mr Inch junior, his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash near Mackay earlier this month.

Police watched from patrol cars as bikies, including members of the notorious Finks 'Terror Team', arrived to pay their respects.

Bikies expected to turn out in force for funeral

 

Police will closely monitor a funeral for the son of one of the founding members of the Finks outlaw motorcycle club on the Gold Coast today.

Finks’ members are expected to turn out in force to farewell Ned Inch who died alongside his wife Nahalia and their three-year-old daughter Nevaeh in a crash near the town of Koumala, south of Mackay, on May 31.

For reasons that are not yet known, the family’s dual-cab ute veered onto the wrong side of the highway and slammed into a northbound truck.

Police allegedly found drug pre-cursor chemicals and a sum of cash in the back of Mr Inch’s ute.

The site is less than 1.5km from another studio earmarked for Arbour Lane, which police say will be a joint operation between the Finks and the Lone Wolf club.

Watch

FINKS IN CHAINS

An in depth report on how police hope to use new legislation to bring criminal elements and leaders of the Finks bikie clubs under control.

 

Watch

HELL'S ANGELS HIT GOLD COAST

Bikie gang Hell's Angels ride through the Gold Coast with police on their tails.

THE Hells Angels are muscling in on the Gold Coast, with the outlaw motorcycle gang planning to open a tattoo studio at Robina - right in the middle of enemy territory.

The site is less than 1.5km from another studio earmarked for Arbour Lane, which police say will be a joint operation between the Finks and the Lone Wolf club.

It has stunned senior police who fear the move could push the Gold Coast bikie clubs into all-out war.

The Hells Angels have ruthlessly taken advantage of the police crackdown on the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks by moving ahead with plans to open the studio on Robina Town Centre Drive.

The Finks cannot afford to be involved in a turf war as police push to have the club declared a criminal organisation and the Hells Angels are primed to exploit any weakness.

Both studios are in a "grey area" of bikie territory falling between the Black Uhlans and the Nomads.

Police upgrade charges against a bikie to murder

 Bloodied clothing led police to body in Kuitpo Forest Police fear tattoo parlour could spark bikie gang war POLICE have upgraded charges against a Finks bikie to murder and say they believe the body found in a shallow grave is that of missing man Michael Varehov. Bloodied clothing found yesterday afternoon at the edge of Kuitpo Forest southeast of Adelaide is what lead police to find a man's body buried in a shallow grave. The discovery by a walker came just hours after police arrested a Finks bikie member with the assault of convicted drug dealer Michael Varehov. Mr Varehov had been missing since Thursday night. Police said he was assaulted and then driven from a Beaumont house. A post-mortem was being conducted today. Police found the man's body last night after examining freshly dug soil in the 5000ha forest southwest of Meadows. Police forensic examiners and SES volunteers returned to the scene today to search for more clues. The burial site is located just a short distance from a popular campsite. Mr Varehov, 45, was jailed for six years in 1994 for selling heroin in Adelaide's northern suburbs and was one of 18 people arrested over an amphetamine ring in the NSW town of Dubbo in 2004. Earlier yesterday, Detective Inspector Mark Trenwith revealed police were called to a disturbance in McAllan Ave, Beaumont, late on Thursday night after Mr Varehov was believed to have been taken from the home in a grey Peugeot sedan with registration number BB-713W. "There was evidence of a serious assault and disturbance of some kind, and the crime scene is now being processed by forensic crime-scene experts," Det Insp Trenwith said. He would not comment on how police believe the assault had been carried out or whether weapons had been used. A full member of the Finks had been charged with causing serious harm to Mr Varehov. The 51-year-old has now been charged with murder, refused police bail and will appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Police raided the Finks clubrooms at Thebarton early yesterday but would not comment on what items were seized from the clubhouse. Det Insp Trenwith stressed that Mr Varehov's death was not believed to be part of any ongoing conflict between rival gangs. "There doesn't appear to be conflict between outlaw motorcycle gangs but (this) appears to be the result of the unlawful activities of those gangs," he said.

Could you become a victim of bikie gang violence

Bikie gangs have been a part of Australia for a long time, but the public displays of violence that stem from these inter-club rivalries seems to be rising to bold new levels. And, as we saw on the Gold Coast recently, it's a war where none of the sides really care who witnesses it and who else might be injured. More than 25 years ago James Cook University journalism lecturer Dr Lindsay Simpson co-wrote a book about Sydney's Milperra Massacre, called Brothers in Arms. More recently, she's updated the work which has been made into a television mini series of the same name. She told Pat Hession on the Drive show that, in a way, little about the culture had changed since she wrote the book.  "They're outlaws, and that hasn't changed," she says.  "They're one per centers and they think they're outside the law. So when you do have things like shooting into tattoo parlours or shooting into houses, or what happened at Milperra - shooting seven people dead in a hotel carpark on a Sunday afternoon - that kind of thing is carried out outside the law. And if the police rock up and ask people what actually happened, nobody says anything." Back then, she says, police had very little intelligence on bikies and virtually nothing was done about the problem. While new gun laws have altered that situation, the mentality of the members themselves has remained exactly the same.  "What hasn't changed is that almost primeval chest beating, 'this is my territory, 'you've done this to me and I'm going to pay you back. And one thing can escalate to another and suddenly it's out of control and suddenly, as we saw in (Sydney) airport incident, people are standing around waiting for a plane and someone is bashed to death. We shouldn't be exposed to that."

Police probe underworld links to bikie hit

POLICE are investigating whether the underworld was given a contract to shoot bikie enforcer Toby Mitchell. Investigators are close to charging gunmen suspected of firing five shots into the Bandido bikie member outside Doherty's Gym in Brunswick.

Brisbane shootings linked to bikie gang

Queensland police are investigating whether shots fired overnight at a Bandidos clubhouse and a tattoo shop linked to the motorcycle group, are connected with earlier bikie raids. A police taskforce has been formed to probe the two Brisbane shootings early on Monday. About five shots were fired into the Bandidos clubhouse in Woolloongabba about 4am (AEST), with some bullets hitting a neighbouring restaurant. Eight minutes later, shots were fired into the Inksanity tattoo parlour at Milton. Detective Inspector Garry Watts told reporters the tattoo parlour has links to the Bandidos but declined to elaborate. About 30 minutes after the shootings, a Mazda 6 sedan was set on fire not far from Milton in Mt Coot-tha. Det Insp Watts says police are looking into whether the car was used in the shootings but he said at this stage it was unclear whether they are dealing with driveby shootings. "The first two incidents have Bandidos motorcycle gang links and then a vehicle totally consumed by fire a short distance away is something to look at," Det Insp Watts said. He said so far police had no witnesses, but the Bandidos club is co-operating with police. Detectives are looking into whether previous bikie violence could have sparked the latest shootings, he said. "... we will be looking at whether these incidents have anything to do with other incidents we are currently investigating," Det Insp Watts said. "At this stage we don't know who is behind this current shooting." He warned bikie members not to take the law into their own hands and attempt to retaliate. "These things have a tendency to be tit-for-tat; whether there is going to be any retaliation is unknown," he said. Asked what advice he had for Bandidos and other bikies, he said: "I would consider it very carefully as to whether (retaliating) is worthwhile." He said police were concerned more innocent people could become accidental victims of bikie attacks, as happened on the Gold Coast in April. A gunman shot a 42-year-old man, believed to be senior Bandidos member Jacques Teamo, and a 53-year-old woman bystander at Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast on April 28.

Police investigate bikie links in overnight shootings

Police have set up a task force to investigate two bikie-related shootings that have occurred in Brisbane overnight. There are several sets of shots that hit the Bandidos club house in Stanley Street at Woolloongabba early this morning. The pump-action shot gun fired six shots at a time hitting the Bandidos sign and two windows. A tattoo parlour across the river in Milton was hit with around four shots sometime after 4:00am (AEST). No one was injured in the shootings. One woman said she heard shots at Woolloongabba at about 4:00am. Some Bandidos Club members are at the scene to inspect the damage. Police are also investigating possible links to a car fire at Mt Coot-tha a short time later. Staff at the Milton parlour, Inksanity, have taken to social media to assure their customers everyone is safe. Workers have thanked people for their concern on the parlour's Twitter and Facebook accounts, and say everyone there is safe. These are the latest in a recent spate of drive-by shootings targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs. Over the weekend Gold Coast police named individual members of the Finks outlaw bike club, along with some of their criminal histories. Queensland Police have applied to the Supreme Court to have the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks declared a criminal organisation.

Bikie 'terror team': Police outline case against Gold Coast Finks

They allegedly boast a "terror team" responsible for handing out "Finks' fines" or extortions and must wear jackets featuring an image of a cartoon wizard. They have allegedly been involved in murder, dealing in marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and speed and linked to a shooting in Sydney and even the attempted theft of a $400,000 Lamborghini from a Melbourne car salesroom. Meet the Gold Coast Finks outlaw motorcycle gang as described by Queensland police, who last week alleged the group and its more than 40 members should be designated a criminal organisation under the state's controversial two-year-old anti-association laws. Advertisement: Story continues below In a 95-page application filed in the Queensland Supreme Court, the state's police allege the Finks “habitually, both individually and collectively, engage in serious criminal activity” as demonstrated by numerous criminal incidents up and down the east coast of Australia. The application, obtained after Seven News applied to the Supreme Court to access the file, provides a unique look at the outlaw motorcycle group as observed by police, who allege gang rules include requiring members to wear “colours” – a “leather jacket or vest which bears the club logo of the character “Bung” from the Wizard of Id cartoon and the patch “1%”, a reference to the belief they operate in the 1 per cent of society outside the law. Under the heading “members associate for the purpose of engaging or conspiring to engage in serious criminal activity”, the application details a range of crimes such as the incident in 2009, when the Queensland Police Service arrested one alleged member, after learning he was travelling to New South Wales to collect cocaine and MDMA for schoolies celebrations. When police stopped his car they found over 8000 tablets which contained methylamphetamine and cocaine, the application says. In the May 2010 incident, it is alleged two members visited a high-end sports car salesyard in Port Melbourne wearing Finks colours on their clothing, the application says. It alleges one of the members then demanded the keys to a $400,000 Lamborghini from the owner, who refused. An alleged member then assaulted a person who handed over the keys. The members then drove the car away. One of the men was later arrested and convicted of robbery and sentenced to imprisonment of three years and six months. On another occasion police stopped what they allege were some 27 Finks in a group riding at South Grafton in NSW and on another occasion police raided a house at Merrylands in Sydney's western suburbs as part of an investigation into a shooting in Norton Street, Leichardt, and discovered a Finks vest belonging to one of the alleged members. The 29 pages detailing criminal acts include dozens of serious offences committed in Queensland and include the bashing death of a man in connection with the suspected theft of a motorcycle, the assault of a man in nightclub with a bar stool that resulted in him losing an eye, the dealing and use of drugs including cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy, possession of pistols and shotguns, and throwing a man off a balcony on the Gold Coast in December 2001. The application alleges that within the organisation is a group known as the "Finks terror team" whose major function is the extortion of money by a system known as "Finks' fines". It alleges 10 individuals are members of this team. One assault was alleged to have unfolded with a member arriving at the victim's doorstep and proclaiming: “I've heard you've been talking about my club.” When asked what club that was, the member displayed his t-shirt bearing the “Terror Team” and the word “Finks”. The member then told the victim “I'm here to f--- you up”, according to the application. He then kicked the security door causing it to bust its frame and the victim was hit on the head by the frame and sustained two lacerations to the scalp. The alleged member was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment. The application contains a chronological record of the times members were allegedly intercepted by police in New South Wales and Queensland and even once in the Northern Territory and recorded the fact they either admitted to being a Fink or were wearing Fink-related colours dating back to the late 1990s. Brisbane-based lawyer Adam Magill, who represents a number of the alleged members, was surprised at the decision to file the application and said the individuals named in the application were not in any position to comment. “It was only filed on Friday afternoon,” he told Fairfax Media on Sunday. Similar laws have been introduced in New South Wales in 2009 following a deadly brawl involving bikies at Sydney's domestic airport, but were overturned by the High Court after a member of the Hells Angels challenged the legislation on the grounds it curtailed individual liberties. Friday’s police application was the first filed under the Queensland’s Criminal Organisation Act. The law was opposed by Queensland’s Liberal National Party opposition in 2009, when senior figure Lawrence Springborg claimed Labor MPs “should be condemned to the eternal nightmare which follows their trampling of centuries of established legal rights of every Queensland citizen into the dirt”. However, Police Minister Jack Dempsey said on Friday: “While the LNP has been critical of these laws in the past, we will do everything we can to crack down on these gangs and protect the community.”

PERTH'S outlaw motorcycle gangs are "aggressively" expanding into Asia and have set up a chapter in Bali

PERTH'S outlaw motorcycle gangs are "aggressively" expanding into Asia and have set up a chapter in Bali, according to Assistant Police Commissioner Nick Anticich. He confirmed the spread of the gangs' tentacles after The Sunday Times learnt WA members of the Coffin Cheaters owned businesses in Kuta and others had been seen in groups wearing their colours in clubs and bars. Mr Anticich, WA Police's top bikie expert, confirmed the Cheaters had a local club in Bali and said gangs were "expanding aggressively overseas, opening clubhouses and absorbing smaller clubs in other countries". "Intelligence suggests local clubs are keen to build connections to some South-East Asian countries where amphetamines and the precursor chemicals needed to make them can be more easily obtained," he said. "There is some anecdotal information to suggest the interest in overseas countries may be to facilitate money laundering." Other bikie gangs with a presence in Bali include the Bandidos and Rock Machine. "The tough laws in Bali around drug dealing we believe provide a significant deterrent for members to engage in that activity," Mr Anticich said. "We are not so confident that this deterrent exists in relation to precursors or chemicals that can be used for drug manufacture. "In many countries these are cheap, easily accessible, not illegal to possess and available in commercial quantities." Another WA Police source said Bali had become a haven for international drug gangs because of the lack of security technology. A 55-year-old housewife was arrested on May 19 and is among four British people facing a possible death sentence in Bali for alleged drug smuggling. In August last year, a 41-year-old Ugandan woman was found dead in a Kuta hotel room with more than 1kg of crystal meth, wrapped in plastic, in her intestines. Mr Anticich said though Indonesia ratified the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances more than a decade ago, it was still "difficult" to define what chemicals their laws related to. Bikie gangs were flourishing across South-East Asia, with the Bandidos boasting chapters in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and the Outlaws operating in Thailand, the Philippines and Japan. WA Police could monitor organised crime figures and seek assistance of police in other jurisdictions if they believed criminal activity was occurring. In WA, bikies are not allowed to wear their colours in licensed venues. The Barnett Government also plans to introduce anti-association laws banning people in known criminal organisations, such as bikie gangs, from gathering or even contacting each other.