OFF THE WIRE
The nightclub owner John Ibrahim wants to make it known: "The Cross is in safe hands … It's disorganised crime that's the problem.''
On the very night massive police numbers were deployed to crack down on bikie-related crime in the infamous Golden Mile, Mr Ibrahim paraded the fact he is still the king of Kings Cross.
Mr Ibrahim, flanked by an entourage of tattoos and muscle, zig-zagged through Kings Cross shaking hands, exchanging jokes and hugs with security guards and touts in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The Sun-Herald spoke to Mr Ibrahim about midnight on Friday, outside Dream Girls strip club, where he laughed off suggestions that gun crime in Sydney was out of control due to an escalating war between the Hells Angels and Nomads bikie clubs.
"The Cross is in safe hands. No problems here," he said in rare public comments. "It's all good."
It was a brazen public display of power on the same night that the Premier's beefed-up police presence was on the lookout for any bikies defying the new ban on wearing gxxg colours and emblems in Kings Cross clubs, pubs and restaurants.
Barry O'Farrell's ban, which includes bikies running tattoo parlours, was part of a wider response to tit-for-tat shootings that last week included an attack on a house rented by former Nomad president Sam Ibrahim, John's elder brother.
Another government measure to tackle bikie crime includes the Consorting and Organised Crime amendment that came into play on March 12. The opposition spokesman for police, Nathan Rees, said ''a criminal family may as well have written this consorting legislation'' as Section 93 Y allows a defence for family members who might otherwise be restricted from meeting under this law.
''The Ibrahim family can continue with impunity,'' Mr Rees said.
But the barrister Wayne Baffsky said another recent amendment, the Criminal Organisations Control legislation, was laughable and dangerous. Mr Baffsky, who acts for the United Motorcycle Council, a group representing the major outlaw clubs, predicts a second High Court challenge that will cost NSW millions of dollars while wasting police and court time.
''The problem with this act is it is targeting any group of two or more people,'' he said. ''It's not targeting bikies or criminals specifically, which leaves it up to the police commissioner as to who they wish to target. These laws could be used against a political group or protest group.''
The NSW Attorney-General, Greg Smith, stood by the laws, confident any challenge would fail.
''The new laws put police in a position to do what they do best every day and make a judgment about behaviour which forms or reinforces criminal ties,'' Mr Smith said.
On Friday, 160 police officers using 18 warrants launched targeted dawn raids on a number of Sydney properties, finding two firearms and an undisclosed quantity of drugs.
Recent arrests in similar swoops suggest many arrested have been ''noms'' - that is, nominated gxxg members or associates who have to prove their worth as ''foot soldiers'' before being officially sworn into a prospective club. And while a switch of allegiances is another element of the Hells Angel and Nomad feud, senior NSW Police told The Sun-Herald the shootings were linked to several large ''ice'' deals going wrong.
''A series of meth batches have failed,'' one said. ''This means massive losses because it's expensive to do. The cost of ingredients is increasing. The whole production for one decent batch costs over $100,000. So when the cook stuffs up, someone double-crosses you along the way or the drugs don't work, people get cranky.
''The bottom line is people aren't earning. Several significant earners for the Hells Angels are out of the picture overseas. Club members get cranky. They've got too much spare time, they are idle and there is bravado with the young guys.''
The head of the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad, Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace, said that, since last October, the disputes were linked to ''small groups heavily weighted by people with a Middle Eastern background''.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/when-the-gangs-are-banished-ibrahim-parades-his-colours-20120428-1xrmu.html