Finks and Nomads civil war: Police target bikies in dawn raids

TEN alleged bikies have been arrested in sweeping dawn raids in the NSW Hunter Region as police crack down on an escalating conflict between rival gangs — the Finks and the Nomads. Police say tension between the gangs is so intense it’s only a matter of time before an innocent bystander gets hurt.

TEN alleged bikies have been arrested in sweeping dawn raids in the NSW Hunter Region as police crack down on an escalating conflict between rival gangs — the Finks and the Nomads.

About 6am this morning, police from the State Crime Command’s Criminal Groups Squad and Northern Region executed search warrants at properties linked to Nomads and Finks members.

Thirty-one properties, from Muswellbrook to Newcastle, were targeted in today’s large-scale sting involving more than 280 police officers.

The Finks and Nomads are locked in a violent civil war. Picture: NSW Police

The dispute has result in a number of shootings and violent incidents.

A rural property in Tenambit which was part of part of police raids on bikies in the Hunter Valley. Picture: AAP Image/Darren Pateman

Weapons, guns, drugs and reptiles were seized, while those arrested are being questioned.

Police say tension between the gangs is so intense it’s only a matter of time before an innocent bystander gets hurt.

The raids follow an investigation into the ongoing “civil war” between the two gangs, believed to have begun in late 2016, when a former Nomads bikie switched allegiance by “patching over” to the Finks.

A police officer at a property in Braxton. Picture: AAP Image/Darren Pateman

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BIKIE GANGS TURN HUNTER INTO BATTLE GROUND

There have since been a string of incidents, from assaults to drive-by shootings and firebombings, each more serious than the last.

Detective Superintendent Wayne Humphrey appealed to the outlaw bikies and their family members to stop the tension.

“Eventually, either you or someone in your family could be shot ... or even someone who’s totally unrelated to the gangs,” he said, addressing reporters in Newcastle today.

Police conducted raids early this morning. Picture: AAP Image/Darren Pateman

“That will be on your conscience.” Shooting incidents this year have involved high-powered rounds that presented “massive risk” to the community, Det. Sup. Humphrey said.

“It’s just got to stop.” Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace slammed the gangs for acting “irrationally and irresponsibly”.

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Since January there have been at least seven shooting incidents, including one at a home near Maitland last month that left a 44-year-old man with a bullet wound to the leg.

Officers from Strikeforce Raptor have this year dismantled two separate Nomads clubhouses in the Hunter Region.

NSW Police are currently seeking serious crime prevention orders for 12 months against five Nomads to help quash tensions.

The restrictions include bans on entering any licensed premises in NSW, travelling in vehicles at night, associating with any member of any gang, and using encrypted messaging services.

In an affidavit tendered to the NSW Supreme Court last week, Sergeant Gary Broadhurst said the Hunter conflict was the most significant bikie war occurring in NSW.

“It is only a matter of time before a member of the public entirely not associated with these two gangs is injured,” he wrote.