Descendants bikie gang brothers Tom and Perry Mackie will be deported back to New Zealand on character grounds

Two of Adelaide’s most powerful bikie gang leaders are in custody and will be deported back to New Zealand within days.

Descendants bikie gang leader Tom Mackie (front left) at a summit of the Hells Angels, Gypsy Jokers, Rebels and Finks bikie gangs at the Descendants’ Adelaide headquarters in 2009.

The two founding members of the Descendants will be kicked out of Australia in a crackdown striking at the heart of Adelaide’s bikie scene.

The Advertiser can reveal that Tom and Perry Mackie, two of the most senior-office holders in the Descendants bikie gang, were arrested at their Adelaide homes on Tuesday morning.

The pair are being held in an unnamed immigration facility pending the cancellation of their Australian visas and removal to New Zealand.

The move will cripple the powerful gang, elements of which are involved in South Australia’s multimillion-dollar methamphetamine trade.

Tom Mackie, senior member of Descendants, along with his brother Perry have been taken into custody by Border Force officials ahead of their expected removal to New Zealand.

The two brothers, 64 and 65, were arrested at their Ingle Farm and Prospect homes and are expected to be removed to New Zealand in the coming days.

The arrests were the result of a combined effort between the Department of Home Affairs, Border Force, SA Police, Australian Federal Police and the Australian Taxation Office.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Gavin Stone said both men posed a significant risk to the community because of their extensive criminal record and links to the Descendants bikie gang.

“Outlaw motorcycle gangs exist for one reason only – to make as much money as possible, in any way possible,” he said.

“They are sophisticated, violent organised criminal networks that have zero respect for the law and regard themselves as above it, and the Descendants are no different.

“The AFP-led National Anti-Gangs Squad will use all powers at our disposal to keep Australians safe from these criminal gangs.”

Descendants bikie Tom Mackie knocks on the door of the Macclesfield Hotel as hundreds of bikers were locked out during the United Motorcycle Council protest ride in 2009. They were unsuccessfully fighting the State Government’s anti-association laws.

SA Police Detective Superintendent Steve Taylor said bikies believe they act beyond the law “but they cannot, and this is a clear example”.

Border Force special investigations commander Greg Linsdell said the government had the power to revoke the visas of anyone on character grounds.

“Any non-citizen with an extensive criminal history and involvement with a criminal organisation, such as an OMCG, can expect to have their Australian visa cancelled and to be removed from our country,” he said.

The Mackie brothers will join more than 300 bikies and organised crime figures to be kicked out of Australia on character grounds including failed bikie boss Vince Focarelli and senior Mongols member Andrew Peter Stevens.

Both Mackie brothers were arrested earlier this year along with nine other members of the Descendants over a wild brawl at a Blair Athol car yard.

It was a rare show of force from the club’s most senior members, who have remained relatively clear of the courts as they have grown older.

The brothers co-founded the gang in 1974.

Recently the gang have been the target of a multi-agency task force dubbed Operation Jarmo.

Federal Police believe that the members of the Descendants have worked with the Hells Angels to gain a market share in the methamphetamine importation trade.

A catalyst for the start of Jarmo was the increasing number of large-scale drug hauls detected coming into Australia.

The operation resulted in several arrests, including of a full member of the gangs as well as the seizure of kilograms of drugs and a 9mm handgun.

In 2013, members of the gang were linked to a $151 million drug syndicate dismantled by police as part of Operation Divulge.

The crackdown resulted in the arrest of 25 people including full members, associates and nominees of the Descendants.