Police raids are designed to catch suspects by surprise
Otherwise their targets might run, destroy evidence, or decide to fight back
Usually a raid starts with a loud warning that cops are coming in, no matter what
But other times they're more sneaky, using stealth over muscle, creeping in quietly
It's hard to say which is more terrifying. We'll see both here. The targets of these raids this
week were two outlaw motorcycle clubs — the Bandidos, one of the largest outlaw biker clubs in the world,
and the Comanchero, the largest in Australia. Police smashed down some bikers' doors in Australia's hot
dry interior, but they also used a key to sneak into an apartment on the country's sunny coast
in an apparent no-knock search. In both cases, the raids seemed to come as a surprise. I mean, this
guy was just chilling in bed with his dog, and this guy, he arrived just in time to be arrested
The Mob Reporter here with news of continued crackdowns on outlaw bikers down under
and why an old rivalry between two of the country's largest clubs
still fuels these sweeping displays of police power. Let me tell you about it
The raids targeting the Bandidos took place far from the city
centers and suburbs of Australia's major cities
which are the usual epicenters for much of the country's organized crime. It was some 400 miles
west of Sydney and 300 miles north of Melbourne, in the Riverina region of Australia's interior
It's not far from where they're filming the next Mad Max movie
Now the original of that film is both an Aussie cinematic touchstone and a gritty organized crime
classic. It presents a particularly dark view of the potential future for outlaw biker clubs
This probe targeted the Bandidos' Mid-State chapter. Two homes were searched on June 23
2022. The police investigation has been underway since February, probing activities
of the Bandidos in the Murrumbidgee district. Police said a detached shed behind one of the
houses was being used as a Bandidos clubhouse, which they then dismantled
It couldn't have been very impressive or police would surely have released photos of the inside
Instead they show what was hauled out of it, which is lots of Bandidos branded clothing. It looks like
it may have been more of a warehouse than a clubhouse, perhaps a central facility for all of
Australia's chapters because I can see support wear here for at least 10 different Bandidos
chapters, including Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth City, which is 2,000 miles away on the west coast
The presence of a clubhouse for one of the world's largest outlaw biker clubs seemed
a surprise to many locals as well. The mayor where the clubhouse was raided said the bikies'
presence had gone largely unnoticed, telling local media they had been of no real concern
Visually, at least, it looked like police raided a clothing store rather than a dangerous crime
group, and on a local Facebook page the comments on it were quite cutting. But of course it wasn't
just about the T-shirts and the hoodies. One of the men is accused of demanding $50,000 on
behalf of the club, with intent to steal, and he was refused bail. Charges against
those arrested include participating in and contributing to a criminal group. Motorcycles,
documents, knives, electronic devices, and storage devices were all seized for further examination
Four people were arrested: two men during the raids
and later the same day a man and a woman at the local police station
The Mid State chapter is the second oldest Bandidos charter in Australia, after the club was imported
from the United States, patching over a dissident chapter of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club in 1983.
The Mid State chapter was briefly incorporated with the government as an organization
until that was cancelled in 2014. The Bandidos now claimed to have more than 50 chapters in Australia
A few days earlier, an alleged associate of one of the Bandidos outlaw biker rivals was charged
This was about 800 miles northeast on the coast in Brisbane. It was a small time bust but the body cam
footage seen here is interesting. It started with police monitoring activities of the Comancheros
in the area and that led to a traffic stop of a car with one man inside. This was back on June 7th
After the man climbed out of the car officers pulled a designer zipped bag out of his jacket
Inside was alleged packed meth with a street value of about $70,000, police say
After further investigation, though, members of the Queensland Police's gang squad
pulled off what looks like a no-knock search
There's no smashed door here. The cops clearly have a key to the apartment and quietly use
it. The apartment entry happened about an hour's drive down the coast from where the car stop was
in Surfers Paradise. Police seized a bunch of other illicit items and arrested the 31-year-
old driver of the car from the traffic stop, who authorities say is a Comanchero associate
No guns were found during any of these raids. We've talked here before about the animosity
between the Bandidos and the Comanchero. "...The fight began in the hotel car park where members of the
British Motorcycle Club had organized a party to celebrate Australia's Father's Day and it turned
the normally quiet suburb into a battleground. It's still not clear how the fight began but police say
two rival motorcycle gangs arrived at the hotel and began fighting with rifles, shotguns, baseball
bats, and knives..." It's foundational, in fact, to the evolution of policing and motorcycle club life
in Australia. It helped lead to the country's stern crackdown on guns and biker clubs, above
all else. One year after the new Bandidos burned their Comanchero colors and put the Fat Mexican
on their backs, there was a wild shootout between the two clubs, these former brothers, in a suburb of
Sydney. It's called "the Milperra Massacre" now; seven people died and 28 were injured in the raging gun
battle at a motorcycle swap meet on Father's Day in 1984. The dead included four Comancheros, two
Bandidos, and a young girl — an innocent bystander at the public event caught in the crossfire
This changed everything about how bikies, as they're called in Australia, were seen —
by the public, by politicians, and by police. The shocking events at Milperra, and the innocent girl
who was lost to it, put these two recent busts in a different light for many in Australia. Sure this is
small-time stuff, but so was the bike swap meet in Milperra. Some busts make bigger splashes than others
I'll leave it for you to decide how much damage these raids did and whether they were justified
Thanks for watching. Please subscribe. Turn on notifications by tapping the bell icon