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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

New Zealand - Biker gang's Kiwi connections

OFF THE WIRE
Steve Hopkins
 stuff.co.nz


bikerswide
Police search a property from which they seized vehicles and motorcycles during a drug raid.

THE biggest biker gang in Australia already has close to 20 patched members in New Zealand and experts warn they could cause major problems here.
Former New South Wales detective turned true-crime writer Duncan McNab said the Rebels Motorcycle Club were "whoppers" on the Australian criminal scene – involved in serious violence, drug and weapons trafficking – and said New Zealand now had a "genuine problem" in policing them.
His warning comes as police revealed on Friday the gang already has 17 members here – experienced criminals who have racked up more than 200 convictions between them and have collectively served almost 170 years behind bars.
The Rebels are believed to be quickly gaining a foothold here by "patching over" members of other Kiwi gangs including the Tribesmen – who have a presence across the North Island – Lower Hutt's Nomads and Nelson's Lost Breed as well as recruiting new members.
Ex-pat Kiwis who had risen to senior positions in the gang – the biggest in Australia boasting about 3000 members – are believed to be behind the expansion plans.
Rebels members were among 31 people arrested in a police sting on Thursday aimed at shutting down a P-dealing ring and slowing the gang's growing Kiwi presence.
More than 100 officers from five policing districts raided addresses across the North Island linked to four gangs, seizing luxury cars, motorbikes, guns, drugs and more than $120,000 in cash.
The operation followed numerous sightings of Rebels members in Taupo, Palmerston North, Whangarei and Auckland in recent months.
Late last month a dozen Rebels members were spotted at Auckland Airport, where Customs turned back another member arriving from Australia.
McNab said most international gangs expanded by finding kindred spirits locally and using them to expand.
"It's not uncommon for the larger gang to arrive in the new market and grow quickly because they assimilate [other] gangs who have a similar interest," he said.
"As businessmen the bikers are pragmatic.
"If there's a deal to be done - and unless they really, really want to kill each other - they will work together for the duration of the deal."
It was also about bringing expertise and sharing skills, McNab said.
He cited the American Hells Angels introducing safe P-cooking skills to Australian gangs in return for local criminals providing them with raw materials to make the drug, which wasn't available in the US, as an example.
"The Rebels would bring to the New Zealand gangs expertise in a wide range of portfolios and possibly access to suppliers of various [drugs]. The local gangs provide local knowledge of the market and the hands-on networks they have already established," McNab explained.
Detective Superintendent Brett Kane, from the police Organised and Financial Crime Agency, said police were working with other departments such as Customs, Inland Revenue and Work and Income to stop Rebels members any way they could.
That could include police pulling over gang members on the roads, seizing their assets under New Zealand proceeds-of-crime legislation and investigating money laundering or tax avoidance.
He said New Zealand police were working with their trans-Tasman counterparts to monitor Kiwi nationals who were members of the gang in Australia.

"There's been a good sharing of intelligence ... it's about disruption [of the club] in the widest possible sense."
Meanwhile, Australian members of the Rebels Motorcycle Club are distancing themselves from the alleged drug trading of their New Zealand counterparts.
A spokesperson for Rebels MC Australia said the club did not support the sale or distribution of illicit drugs.