New Zealand - Rebels Motorcycle club not in Whangarei to cause trouble (+ video)





 northernadvocate.co.nz

OFF THE WIRE
Kristin Edge

Take a look inside the Rebels Motorcycle Clubrooms on Porowini Av in Whangarei by watching this video clip.
THE Rebels Motorcycle club say they are not in Whangarei to cause trouble - but here to help troubled youth and rehabilitate other gang members who have joined them.
Yesterday the Northern Advocate was invited to visit the new clubrooms in a commercial building on Porowini Ave.
The group came under close police scrutiny over Easter weekend with the first organised club ride in New Zealand touring three hotels in Northland on Saturday.
Police manning checkpoints at both ends of Porowini Ave far outnumbered gang members before they set out on their ride.
The club's spokesman, who wanted to be known only as Guru, said the club "wanted to cement itself in the community and have a positive impact".
The building was set up primarily to be used as a kickboxing gym and a base for up to 12 businesses which would employ their members.
The businesses included selling firewood, recycling green waste, making large concrete garden ornaments and pots and developing a sophisticated system named "hot spot" to stop cars from being stolen.
He said police claims the gang had Australian links and were known for manufacturing and dealing methamphetamine was propaganda and their club had a "no drugs policy".
'Police have gone overboard talking about drugs and crime when they have nothing to substantiate it.
We are a motorcycling club. We have a common interest even though we come from a wide background," Guru said.
"We are here to make friends with the community and that won't happen by dealing drugs. It's not a gang. We are motorcycle enthusiasts and we don't have any involvement in meth.
"We know what it's done to our community ... it's a killer."
The club has about 45 members in Northland, including 12 ex-Tribesmen who had patched over to the Rebels.
He said the Tribesmen who had joined the Rebels had done so because they wanted to go drug-free, rehabilitate and get out of the going to jail cycle.
"Our club gives them a reason to keep off the drugs, keep fit, keep their bikes warranted and registered. It distracts them from the stuff they do when they are bored."
He said the police resources used over the weekend was a waste of taxpayers' money and was not justified.
The aim of the weekend was to raise money for Christchurch earthquake victims and on Sunday they had a $5500 cheque to hand over to a Red Cross representative.
However, Guru said police prevented the person coming to the clubrooms and accepting the money.
"We had families up from Christchurch it was supposed to be a shindig and to do something good for the community. We did nothing wrong there was no criminal intent all weekend."
He said the group would overcome the public perception created by the police that they were "violent thugs" and involved in drugs by helping the Whangarei community.

"We want to be known as tough but fair and not bad ... we all have hearts. We are up and running and we are going to stay up and running because we are doing good things."