Territory police will crackdown on bikie gangs which are tempted to set up shop in the capital as part of a broader effort to disrupt outlaw motorcycle groups across the country.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Attorney-General Simon Corbell on Friday announced a dedicated taskforce within ACT Policing had already begun to target illegal bikie gang members in recent months in an effort to deter them from committing crimes in Canberra.
Mr Corbell said bikie gang criminals were often tied to drug trafficking, illegal firearms, extortion, money laundering and serious assaults.
''The message from the ACT Government is clear: organised criminal activity is not a big problem, we want to keep it that way and Taskforce Nemesis is designed to keep our foot on the throat of outlaw motorcycle groups in Canberra," he said.
The new taskforce would be part of a national cross-border effort to clamp down on bikie crime and would leverage the resources of the National Anti-Gangs Squad, the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Federal Police.
Despite the tough new approach, Chief Police Officer Rudi Lammers said there had not been a spike in bikie gang activity in the Canberra region in recent years.
''This is about making sure we're pre-emptive and we're predictive and as criminality increases throughout Australia it's about making sure outlaw motorcycle groups do not get a foothold,'' he said.
''It's about breaking down their resilience, it's about dismantling the gangs and it's about making sure the criminal activity stops.''
Chief Police Officer Lammers would not be drawn on whether the taskforce had been prompted by concerns new bikie groups had set up in the ACT.
''We're concerned that activity throughout Australia has an impact throughout all of Australia and that includes outlaw motorcycle groups moving from state to state, and they do that readily and they do that very quickly.
''This is about making sure that the ACT is not seen as a transit route between Melbourne and Sydney and they can't set up camp and set up house here and conduct criminal activity and do that with impunity.''
Mr Corbell was confident current legislation in place was enough to deter bikie gangs, but said the government continued to monitor changes to legislation in other parts of Australia.
''The focus of the ACT Government and ACT Policing is on the criminal activity and particular offences that outlaw motorcycle groups commit.
''We don't want the ACT to be a soft touch, we have a low level of organised criminal activity in the ACT and we want to keep it that way.''
The new taskforce was formed within ACT Policing's existing criminal investigations unit and comprises detectives and intelligence officers with experience in monitoring bikie activity.
Chief Police Officer Lammers said the taskforce had been in place for the past couple of months and police had already arrested nine people and laid more than 20 charges.
Officers last week searched houses, businesses and vehicles in Belconnen, Spence, Warramanga and Fyshwick.
They seized ecstasy, anabolic steroids, cash thought to be the proceeds of crime, a stun-gun device and an extendable baton.
''Our activities will continue over the next two months and we will make sure outlaw motorcycle groups do not establish themselves in Canberra, do not conduct criminal activity in Canberra, and where they have associations with various entities in Canberra - we will target them,'' Chief Police Officer Lammers said.
