This raid and arrest of a senior member of an outlaw biker club has all the familiar elements —
the early morning SWAT style raid, the shouted search warrant warnings,
a Harley-Davidson shirt and a burly man with a beard and tattoos taken to jail. But there was
something different about this arrest. The Mob Reporter here with news that a senior member of
the Saturdarah Motorcycle Club was arrested for allegedly accessing child pornography.
New South Wales police said an investigation began in June when officers were told that a man
described as being known to police was allegedly attempting to access child abuse materials.
After an investigation, members of the anti-organized crime unit called Strike Force
Raptor arrived at a home in a suburb of Sydney. It was shortly after 6 a.m on October 9, 2020.
Here they arrested a 38-year-old man described as a senior member of the Saturdarah Motorcycle Club
Not yet in his biker gear, he stood in this somewhat unfortunate housecoat and slippers.
During a search of the home, a phone and a laptop computer were seized for forensic examination.
While inside the home, officers also found a reptile in urgent need of veterinarian care.
It was removed and taken for treatment. The Saturdarah Motorcycle Club began in
the Netherlands in 1990 and has been spreading to other countries ever since.
It has a distinctive appeal. It is overtly biracial, while most big one percent clubs are vastly
or explicitly white. This is not an inconsequential part of the club's ideals; it's fundamental to them.
The club's name means "one blood" and the racial mix is reflected in its patch — a logo of a black
and a white warrior back-to-back wearing the same headdress, and joined by a river of blood.
Saturdarah first came to Australia in 2015 and had explosive initial growth.
Raids and arrests on its Sydney chapter a year later tried to pin them back
Various internal disputes have been reported and denied ever since, and its members have faced the
same problems from the police crackdown that other bikers face across Australia.
The list of police charges against bikers runs long. The charges usually relate to violence,
the drug trade, weapons offenses, or financial crimes. Even traffic tickets or by law enforcement.
But this is an alleged crime that, if true, even brother bikers might have a hard time excusing.
Although the Saturdarah club was founded on
progressive social policies, and diversity and inclusion,
it's hard to imagine his brothers finding anything to be proud about this new allegation.
Thanks for watching.