Ken McGregor
heraldsun.com.au
Force: Bikie gangs are costing the economy $15 billion a year, according to the Australian Crime Commission, which has found gangs are increasingly working together. Picture: Matt Turner Source: The Advertiser
A 6000 strong outlaw bikie army is increasingly dominating Australia's underworld - and its numbers are growing rapidly, authorities warn.
The bikies belong to 43 outlaw gangs which have stretched their tentacles into every state and territory, opening 96 chapters from the outskirts of Darwin to Kingston, just below Hobart, the Australian Crime Commission told the Sunday Mail.And recruitment is in overdrive, especially in NSW and Victoria, as bikie gangs fight each other to gain a foothold in emerging organised crime markets, which the commission conservatively predicts are costing the economy $15 billion a year.
And disturbingly, the commission has found that the gangs - which have traditionally fought each other unmercifully - are now increasingly working together to boost their illicit profits.
"When they do collaborate with much smaller groups, when that does happen, you can't differentiate one group from the other."
The ACC terms these groups outlaw motorcycle gangs not as a legal definition, but because of the gang members' own view of themselves as operating outside the law.
There are other bikie groups not deemed outlaw by the commission. While refusing to name any specific bikie gangs, Mrs Harfield said the groups with interstate connections "clearly" created bigger problems for law enforcement.
The Rebels, which is said to have more than 2000 members across the country, remains Australia's biggest - but international and interstate connections arguably make the Hells Angels the most wealthy.
And bikie members are increasingly integrating with normal society, making it more difficult for authorities to distinguish the illegal behaviour from legitimate businesses.
Standover work, illegal firearms, extortion, prostitution and drug distribution remain the staple of the bikie industry but cyber crime is fast becoming a cash cow for the gangs.
"You do not see all members patched in public, they are not always visible or like they are portrayed on television," Mrs Harfield said.
"They come from a very broad spectrum of very diverse ethnic groups." However, the threat of violence was never too far from the biker's psyche, she said.
"The violence might not always be as obvious but it will be used to enforce territory, exact revenge or as a display of power," she said.
And as bikie numbers rise, the traditional image of the bearded tough man continues to change.
Street toughs, predominantly with Middle Eastern backgrounds, are now filling their ranks. Notorious, for example, reportedly has up to 200 members.
They are known as the "Nike bikies" because of their clean-shaven look. Indeed, many gang members of the non-traditional clubs do not even own a motorcycle - something that was unheard of just a decade ago.
