Alleged Operation Ironside murder plot aimed to uphold Comanchero bikie gang’s reputation for violence, court told

An alleged bikie murder plot foiled by Operation Ironside aimed to send a violent message to SA’s underworld, a court has heard.

An alleged plot to murder a fellow Comanchero bikie gang member was “club business” aimed at “upholding” the club’s reputation and “send a shockwave through the criminal community”, a court has heard.

The details were revealed during a Supreme Court bail review for one of the men charged over the alleged plot to kill a gang member at Rosslyn Park in May last year.

In the hearing, a prosecutor told the court the alleged plan stemmed from a “long-running organised crime dispute” where the club’s reputation to engage in violence was at stake.

The man seeking bail was not a member of the Comanchero but was allegedly recruited to shoot a member who owed a debt to the gang, after the police foiled a similar plan a few days earlier.

The prosecutor said the plan was not as “overt” on the encrypted messaging application AN0M, which being secretly monitored by law enforcement agencies, as some of the other alleged crimes involving the group. He said members also met in person to discuss the alleged plot.

The patch of the Comanchero motorcycle gang.

“By the time these events take place what becomes clear is that the intent has evolved from a kidnapping, which is previously alluded to, to a bashing, to a shooting to wound and then, of course, our case is that by the time these events take place the intent was unmistakably to murder,” the prosecutor said.

“It’s difficult to point to one clear message but of course there’s no shortage of references to needing to get (the intended target), needing a ‘tool’ (weapon) for the job … and needing to send a message.

“Indeed, that is the motive in my submission, the need to send a message because what this is, is a long-running organised crime dispute where (a gang office bearer) is under pressure, as one of the key figures within the club, to uphold the club’s reputation, including the reputation to engage in violence and ensure that the club is respected in the organised crime community.

“So it was intended that a murder be carried out of (the intended target) in order to send a shockwave through the criminal community.”

He said the alleged shooter had placed a gun under a bush, before police intervened and he was arrested nearby hiding in the garden of another home.

Police recovered the weapon, and found the alleged shooter in possession of a mask, gloves and a scarf.

The court heard the home at the centre of the plot was the wrong house – the alleged intended target no longer lived there.

Tim Clarke, for the man, said his client did not have an encrypted AN0M device, nor was he mentioned in the communications on the devices.

“There is no evidence of any link between my client and the intended victim,” he said.

Justice Adam Kimber refused the man release on bail due to the gravity of the alleged offence.

The man is next due to appear in court later this month.