A SPECIAL
Commonwealth taskforce with wide-ranging powers will be set up
to investigate the criminal infiltration of bikie gangs into the
Surfers Paradise nightclub security industry.
Other 'hot spots' to
be targeted by the Australian Crime Commission include Perth,
where a bikie gang war has erupted over control of nightclubs,
and Sydney.
The Federal
Government has allocated $8.7 million over the next two years --
about 10 per cent of the ACC's annual budget -- to set up a
20-strong taskforce with the aim of stopping the link between
bikie gangs and bouncers at nightclubs.
The ACC has
identified a link between outlaw criminal gangs and security
provided at Surfers Paradise, Perth and Sydney clubs.
ACC general
manager Jeff Pope said yesterday motorcycle gangs were a major
threat in the illegal drug trade. "Our intelligence ... is
clearly indicating they are a significant player in the
(amphetamines) market," he said.
"It seems clear
that ... they are involved in precursor chemical diversion,
(amphetamine) manufacture, production, distribution ... pretty
much the entire supply chain."
The commission's
Illicit Drug Data Report for 2005-06 singled out the gangs for
mention when highlighting that the majority of
methyl-amphetamine, known as ice, available in Australia is
domestically produced.
"A strong
prevelance of outlaw motorcycle gang involvement in the
(amphetamines) market has been identified, particularly with
small and versatile laboratories," the report states.
The commission
has unprecedented powers to investigate 'high-risk crime groups'
involved in significant, serious and organised crime, including
phone-tapping powers, which are banned in Queensland under
present laws.
It says these
criminal groups have a 'willingness and capacity to corrupt
public officials, intimidate witnesses and use knowledge of law
enforcement methods to defeat normal law enforcement
investigations'.
The inquiry will
also look at money laundering and tax fraud associated with
nightclubs.
The extra funding
to fight bikie gangs infiltrating nightclub security follows
damning evidence provided by the Crime and Misconduct Commission
to a federal parliamentary inquiry into bikie gangs and their
links to organised crime.
In the CMC's
submission to the federal inquiry, chairman Robert Needham
warned that the drug market in Queensland had become 'diverse
and entrenched' as organised crime groups, including bikie
gangs, changed their methods and networks to avoid detection.
He said the
Beattie Government's failure to introduce telephone interception
powers 'severely impedes the capability of law enforcement to
make serious inroads into the ... crime groups involved in the
production of and trafficking of amphetamines and other
synthetic drugs'.
Mr Needham said
the Queensland illegal drug industry was 'historically'
cottage-based but warned that outlaw bikie gangs were well
involved and, like other organised crime groups, tried to avoid
detection by 'compartmentalising their operations'. He said they
were 'more loosely structured and opportunistic', and small labs
were spread over a larger area in Queensland.
Surfers Paradise
nightclub industry spokesman Tom Tate said yesterday his members
would support any crime-fighting measure aimed at stopping
illegal activity in nightclubs.
"It's a positive
move," he said. "There's no doubt that a lot of cash that comes
from other sources goes into nightclubs and that's what the
taskforce will no doubt look at."
Tourism and
licensing Minister Margaret Keech said yesterday the Beattie
Government had introduced stringent laws, to take effect later
in the year, regulating security providers.
"We will use
criminal intelligence, unre- corded convictions and other
background information to get rid of members of outlaw
motorcycle gangs and other thugs," she said.
"We already work
closely and share intelligence with the Queensland Police
Service on many issues, including the problem of outlaw
motorcycle gangs.
"Links between
the security industry and outlaw motorcycle gangs have been
detected. Information uncovered by my department is referred to
the QPS. These new laws were designed to help prevent organised
crime infiltrating the industry. The strict new checks are aimed
at organised crime."
Ms Keech said the
tough new restrictions were developed in direct response to the
need for stricter regulations and tougher penalties for those
doing wrong.
The CMC's
director of crime operation, Acting Detective Chief
Superintendent Paul Doyle, recently told The Bulletin rigid gang
structures had been replaced by 'collective criminals'.
"We are finding
situations where criminals of different backgrounds and
motivations work together for the greater greed," he said. "They
will work with anyone if it means making money."
News of the
national crackdown comes a day after NSW Police Commissioner Ken
Moroney effectively declared war on bikie gangs carving up
Sydney for their own illicit gain in a turf war.
In NSW,
motorcycle gangs are in police sights with plans to ban gangs
from meeting and even wearing club colours.
The NSW laws
would mirror US legislation giving police greater powers to
prevent bikies from meeting at their clubhouses.
