Police on alert - The Angels are on a recruitment drive
A Hells Angels recruitment drive and leadership change have put police on the alert ahead of the first anniversary of a brawl at Sydney Airport in which a man was bashed to death.
The NSW police Gang Squad and its frontline unit, Strike Force Raptor, are understood to be keeping a careful watch on the club's two Sydney chapters, following the recent defection to the Hells Angels of several members of another club.
Quote from the article:
Source: Police on alert - The Angels are on a recruitment drive
The NSW police Gang Squad and its frontline unit, Strike Force Raptor, are understood to be keeping a careful watch on the club's two Sydney chapters, following the recent defection to the Hells Angels of several members of another club.
Quote from the article:
| With the anniversary of the March 22 airport brawl approaching, there is also talk that Derek Wainohu, the long-time president of Sydney's original Hells Angels organisation, the Sydney chapter, has been deposed. There are also suggestions that the Angels' rivals, the Comanchero Motorcycle Club, has also undergone a change in its ''executive branch''. Caretaker president Duax Hohepa Ngakuru is believed to have stepped down, to be replaced by a survivor of the 1984 Milperra Massacre. The possible leadership changes come at the same time as a recruitment drive by the Angels, with the recent acquisition of five experienced members of the Nomads, including former national president Scott Orrock. Before gaining the Nomads, the Angels also recruited former Bandidos boss Felix Jonathan Lyle. The recruitment is not huge - the total membership has grown from 35 to about 40 members - but it has left experienced observers nervous. When clubs recruit, it is often a sign of simmering tensions, said Australia's leading bikie expert, Arthur Veno. ''There's a strong correlation between recruiting drives and inter-club tensions,'' Dr Veno said. ''The growth of one club can also have a flow-on effect on other clubs. A recruitment drive in one club tends to spark a recruitment drive in others in response.'' All the Angels' recruits are experienced, tough operators. ''When the Angels recruit, the don't get the usual gronks; they get kickboxers, muscle men, experienced hands,'' a source said. The recruitment drive hit a speed bump, however, when the Angels' star recruit, Mr Orrock, was thrown out of the club after only two weeks following a dispute at a Christmas party at the Sydney chapter's new clubhouse, sources say. Police and other sources say the recruitment drive is worrying but it does not mean inevitable violence. The United Motorcycle Council - the recently formed body of NSW outlaw clubs - is said to have played a leading role in keeping club tensions from becoming violent. In other news, police have arrested a man they allege is associated with the Notorious street gang and charged him with drugs and firearms offences. Salam Shamus, 29, was arrested on Friday night at a Minchinbury home. Police found a semi-automatic pistol, ammunition, batons, knuckledusters and prohibited drugs during a search of the home. |
Source: Police on alert - The Angels are on a recruitment drive
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