Australia, Rebels bikie tattoo parlour firebombed

OFF THE WIRE
BY: Aja Styles
Source: watoday.com.au
A firebomb attack at a bikie tattoo parlour in Bibra Lake this morning has been blamed on a flare-up in tensions between the Rebels and Rock Machine motorcycle gangs, police say.
The parlour, Ink Assault on Port Pirie Street, is owned by a Rebels motorcycle gang member. There have been other incidents between the two gangs over the past few months that officers from the organised crime division are investigating.
Police and Fire and Emergency Services crews were called to the shop about 2.40am after a City of Cockburn community security patrol reported that Molotov cocktails had been thrown into the business through the front windows, setting off alarms.
Advertisement: Story continues below The fire damage was minor because the bottle containing a flammable liquid did not properly ignite, according to Fire and Emergency Services Authority spokesman John Clune.
FESA and police have spoken to the owner of the business, who was at the scene dousing the flames with a hose when authorities arrived. The fire did $600 damage to the carpeted reception at the parlour.
The owner did not want firefighters going on to the property because he didn't want security breached, Mr Clune said.
The Rock Machine gang has established its national headquarters in Perth, with a 20-member strong chapter based in Fremantle.
Organised Crime Detective Superintendent Charlie Carver said the gang was looking to take on the Rebels over Perth's lucrative the drug market.
"This is about territory, this about who's coming into the patch... The situation is we've got simmering tensions, our job is to stay on top of that," he said.
The club's history has been littered with bloodshed. It was involved in a bloody feud with the Hell's Angels in Canada in the early 90s that saw 150 lives lost, including an 11-year-old boy in a car bomb explosion inside one of the club houses.
The Rebels has 50 members, with four chapters in Victoria Park, Perth's northern suburbs, Rockingham and Busselton.
"We're not going to pretend that it's all good out there, it's not. We have a difficult job, which we're continuing to do and as I said we're not going let up on these people," Detective Carver said.
He was not concerned about bikie violence getting out of control in Perth since "our gang is bigger than any of the gangs. We're 10,000 strong."
It is believed that up to three men filled up jerry cans at a petrol station just prior to the firebombing.

Detectives are asking service station attendants or members of the public who saw anything to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.