SUSPICIONS of bikies pulling strings in nightclubs continue to dog the Surfers Paradise party district.
A venue formerly owned by a Rebels outlaw motorcycle club associate has shut in the wake of police scrutiny, while an aspiring strip club proprietor has been confronted about alleged links with another Rebels bikie who could face a court-ordered ban from the precinct.
This comes after a senior police investigator told The Courier Mail Gold Coast nightclubs were commonly paying protection money to bikies.
"Gold Coast nightclubs are paying a number of clubs to stay away - we know that for a fact," he said. "These nightclubs won't make a complaint. The way they see it, it makes business sense.
"They'll pay that money and at least bikies aren't sitting there in their club. They freely admit their security can't do anything about them."
A bar on Cavill Ave shut its doors and voluntarily suspended its alcohol licence on December 6 after several enforcement actions by police and licensing authorities, senior Gold Coast police sources said yesterday.
The bar last lost its licence in August 2009, prompting then co-owner Zlatko Tesic to sell his interest.
Tesic received a six-month suspended jail sentence in 2003 for his role in a corrupt scheme in which a Transport Department official provided Rebels bikies with bogus licences and registrations.
Meanwhile, a nightclub owner who was vying to open a strip club next door to Surfers Paradise police station has angrily denied links to a Rebel member who allegedly brawled with a Bandidos bikie last week.
Blush owner Chak "Steve" Tan bristled at suggestions he was linked to Ricky Ciano, who could face a ban from the Surfers club precinct when he fronts Southport Magistrates Court on public nuisance charges on January 18.
Mr Tan's club was stormed last Friday by Bandidos allegedly looking for Ciano to avenge an assault on one of their members at nearby Hollywood Showgirls.
Sources allege Mr Tan's link with the Rebel include his ex-business partner Gary Choy, who said Mr Tan introduced Ciano to him inside the club as "a mate of mine from Sydney".
Cambodian-born Mr Tan, a self-described "child of the killing fields" and former bouncer, said he was "sick and tired of rumours" and had even been confronted by police over the matter.
Mr Tan withdrew an adult entertainment application for Blush on November 30, after telling The Courier-Mail "my mother wasn't happy".
A bid by different owners to open a strip club at the same premises six years ago fell over after the Office of Liquor and Gaming was warned Hells Angels would be involved in that venture's security.
The Courier-Mail revealed last month that a Hells Angels nominee was middleman in another multimillion-dollar club venture on Orchid Ave that fell over after police warned the landlord it was a bikies front.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/crime-link-allegations-persist-at-clubs/story-e6freoof-1226237837735
Meanwhile, a nightclub owner who was vying to open a strip club next door to Surfers Paradise police station has angrily denied links to a Rebel member who allegedly brawled with a Bandidos bikie last week.
Blush owner Chak "Steve" Tan bristled at suggestions he was linked to Ricky Ciano, who could face a ban from the Surfers club precinct when he fronts Southport Magistrates Court on public nuisance charges on January 18.
Mr Tan's club was stormed last Friday by Bandidos allegedly looking for Ciano to avenge an assault on one of their members at nearby Hollywood Showgirls.
Sources allege Mr Tan's link with the Rebel include his ex-business partner Gary Choy, who said Mr Tan introduced Ciano to him inside the club as "a mate of mine from Sydney".
Cambodian-born Mr Tan, a self-described "child of the killing fields" and former bouncer, said he was "sick and tired of rumours" and had even been confronted by police over the matter.
Mr Tan withdrew an adult entertainment application for Blush on November 30, after telling The Courier-Mail "my mother wasn't happy".
A bid by different owners to open a strip club at the same premises six years ago fell over after the Office of Liquor and Gaming was warned Hells Angels would be involved in that venture's security.
The Courier-Mail revealed last month that a Hells Angels nominee was middleman in another multimillion-dollar club venture on Orchid Ave that fell over after police warned the landlord it was a bikies front.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/crime-link-allegations-persist-at-clubs/story-e6freoof-1226237837735
