AUSTRALIA - Criminal networks co-opt Hells Angels

OFF THE WIRE
THE Sydney chapters of the Hells Angels have trebled in size within three years as international organised crime networks co-opt the state's bikie gxxgs.Police are using "every piece of legislation available" to disrupt and suppress the gangs, in a strategy similar to that developed by New York police.
Head of the NSW Organised Crime Directorate, Arthur Katsogiannis, told The Australian foreign crime-family networks were using the bikies' reputation to recruit new muscle and intimidate rivals, while laundering money through accountants, trucking firms and other front businesses.
Millions of dollars are thought to have been sent overseas by the gxxgs, he said, and a multi-agency, international approach was required to tackle the problem. "Over the years, (bikie gxxgs) have become a lot more business-focused. While they still have the old extortion and intimidation, they certainly have a lot more business-savvy," Mr Katsogiannis said.
"They're getting smarter and using their professional advisers to get the right advice on how they can invest that cash or launder it."
At least 11 people, including two accountants and a number of alleged bikie gxxg members, were arrested last year in a joint operation between NSW police and the Australian Tax Office, established to investigate money laundering and tax fraud.
Mr Katsogiannis said the Hells Angels had launched a recruitment drive after being "basically flogged" in an airport brawl against rival Comancheros in 2009, in which Hells Angels associate Anthony Zervas died.
"You've got Middle Eastern families who've got national and international connections and networks. We're also now seeing certain outlaw motorcycle gxxgs who have a Balkan influence, Balkan organised crime. They are using the muscle," he said.
The majority of the 150 Hells Angels, organised into six Sydney chapters, were now of Middle Eastern descent, Mr Katsogiannis said, with many of the new members more willing to engage in "bravado" and violent crime, upsetting older members.
The Comancheros had grown its membership by about 60 per cent to roughly 110 in the past 18 months, he said.
Sources close to a number of bikie gxxgs said many of the new members from Middle Eastern backgrounds did have family ties to criminal organisations in Australia and overseas.
"These ties are very close. It means the old image of the bikie gxxg is over. These are criminal gangs, first, then they are bikies," a source said.
Mr Katsogiannis said police were using a policy of "disruption and suppression" based on the approach of New York police chief William Bratton.
Since its formation in 2009, NSW Police's dedicated anti-bikie Strike Force Raptor has executed more than 250 search warrants and issued almost 8000 infringement notices.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/criminal-networks-co-opt-hells-angels/story-e6frg6nf-1226359364871