AUSTRALIA - Bikie insiders fear tax office scrutiny and legal threats by police could spell beginning of end for outlaw clubs

OFF THE WIRE

BIKIE insiders fear the beginning of the end for outlaw motorcycle (*club*), with a tax office crackdown adding to the threat of legal decapitation by police. The Australian Taxation Office has clawed back $1.4 million in unpaid tax while raking over the cash flows of Australia's biggest bikie (*club*) the Rebels, it was revealed this week. That followed a flurry of legal queries by Queensland (*club*) wondering if they were next in police sights under the state's Criminal Organisation Act. The first police target, the Finks on the Gold Coast, failed last week in a High Court challenge to the laws. The High Court decision cleared the way for a Supreme Court trial later to decide if the purpose of the club was to engage in criminal conspiracy. Criminal lawyer Adam Magill said two other outlaw clubs had contacted him. Amid rumours the ink was dry on police applications against the Hells Angels and Bandidos, one bikie told The Courier-Mail: "I don't think a lot of club members realise the implications of (the High Court decision)." "It's bad news . . . this has the possibility of changing the whole outlook in Queensland and will roll on into the other states." One legal source predicted Brisbane's "Nike Bikies", the Bandidos Centro chapter, which was implicated in the drug murder of Jack Lee last year, would be the next police target. Assistant Police Commissioner Mike Condon has rejected suggestions bikie clubs would be pushed underground by the new laws. "Part of their mandate is to be present, to be seen, and to ensure that people that they may have issues with know what they're about," he said. Mr Condon refused to say if applications against other (*club*) were being drawn up, but indicated police might in the future target "other criminal networks and outlaw motorcycle groups". Mr Magill said police would already have the necessary criminal intelligence on other clubs but would test uncharted legal waters with the Finks before drafting another application. Supreme Court Justice David Boddice last week said a seven-week trial - which will hinge on whether or not the purpose of the Finks was to engage in serious criminal conspiracy - would take place no earlier than mid-October. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bikie-insiders-fear-tax-office-scrutiny-and-legal-threats-by-police-could-spell-beginning-of-end-for-outlaw-clubs/story-e6freoof-1226601908562