“Bikie gangs are highly organised and sophisticated criminal organisations, whose members have been convicted of serious crimes such as sexual assault, murder, robbery, abduction, property damage, drug trafficking and firearms and weapon offences. ‘Phone in a Bikie’ campaign aimed to gather information from the public, but also to remind the WA community of the negative impact outlaw motorcycle gangs had on society. “These groups have for years been fooling the public into believing that they are a social club, or a group of innocent joy-riders out for a pleasant motorcycle ride. They are not,” he said. “I encourage the public to help police stop the criminal activities of bikies in WA and phone Crime Stoppers if they think there could be activity involving a known or suspected Outlaw Motor Cycle Gang (OMCG) member, or associate.” The phone-in initiative follows recent clashes between outlaw motorcycle gangs in the Eastern States. Similar tensions between bikie groups are known to exist in WA. Assistant Commissioner (Specialist Crime) Wayne Gregson said anyone with relevant information could safely talk to Crime Stoppers anonymously and help stamp out WA’s criminal organisations.“We don’t want to know who you are, we just want to know what you know about bikies, their activities, their friends and associates,” Mr Gregson said. “Even something as innocuous as car or motorcycle registration numbers, bikies’ colours (patches) and their places of employment could make all the difference.”WA Police have actively targeted outlaw motorcycle gangs and carried out numerous raids in the past 18 months on private and business premises with known bikie connections.A dedicated taskforce, Operation Jupiter, has already achieved a social cost saving of $46.5million for the WA community based on the amount of drugs seized. Other results from Operation Jupiter include:
· 834 people apprehended (304 were OMCG members, nominees or associates)
· 1841 charges laid (976 were OMCG members, nominees or associates)
· 71 firearms and more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition seized
· 7.1kg of amphetamine type stimulants and 1,050 ecstasy tablets seized
· 58.3kg of cannabis seized, along with 402 cannabis plants
· 545 traffic infringement notices and 405 work orders issued to OMCG members, nominees or associates.
