Gold Coast Shane Bowden shooting: The week that was as the hunt for justice goes on
The shooting death of Shane Bowden kickstarted a dramatic period on the Gold Coast. READ THE FULL RECAP OF EVENTS
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THE shooting death of Shane Bowden kickstarted a dramatic period on the Gold Coast.
Here are how the events unfolded.
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 12
‘Bikies are back on the Gold Coast’
The fatal shooting of a notorious bikie gang boss at Pimpama shows that the bikies are back on the Gold Coast, warns the LNP.
Notorious Mongrel Mob gang infiltrates Gold Coast suburbs
The Mongrel Mob are branching out of their Logan heartland to infiltrate surrounding suburbs including the northern Gold Coast to hide criminal activity, leaked police intel says.
Bikies menacing Coast for 40+ years
Bikies are not new to the Gold Coast — they’ve called the Glitter Strip and Hinterland home for more than 40 years.
Inside Shane Bowden’s long bikie career
Shane Bowden was for a long time a lead figure in Australia’s bikie community and had a lead role in one of the Gold Coast’s most infamous nights.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13
Gangland war fear as police left stuck on border duty
Police fear gangland wars will erupt on the Gold Coast as their resources are stretched by pandemic duties.
Bowden killing: Detectives probe Mongols feud
Two men dressed in hoodies staked out a vacant block just metres from the Gold Coast home of notorious bikie Shane Bowden, before shooting him execution style.
Inside story: Moment that sealed fate of former bikie mates
It is March 2006: Notorious Gold Coast bikies Shane Bowden and Nick “the Knife” Forbes are on the run from police, wanted for questioning over the shooting and bashing of a rival gang member at the infamous Ballroom Blitz.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
Underbelly GC: Evolution of bikies on the Coast
Read the full evolution of bikies on the Gold Coast in recent years, looking at all the big cases.
Ex-cop: ‘Put the foot back on the throat of the bikies’
The ex-cop who waged war against Gold Coast outlaw motorcycle gangs says police must “put the foot back on the throat of the bikies” following the execution-style death of Shane Bowden.
Slain bikie’s girlfriend Crystal Kaye Clement has a chequered past
The partner of slain bikie Shane Bowden – at home with her kids when he was gunned down outside in an execution style shooting – had previously avoided jail for her role in a fake rego scam linked to a criminal network run by a then abusive ex-boyfriend and his brother.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
Mongols arrested after Gold Coast police raids
TWO members of the Mongols bikie gang have been arrested and charged with drug offences after raids on the Gold Coast, according to Queensland Police.
How Gold Coast kids graduate to bikies
Our kids risk graduating to bikie gangs rather than from universities, writes Paul Weston.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
Slain bikie had family crisis in lead up to death
Notorious bikie Shane Bowden had been rocked by a family crisis just weeks before being shot dead in an execution-style murder.
Hunt for footage as police ramp up chase over bikie death
Police are urgently calling for dashcam footage in the area Fink bikie Shane Bowden was shot at point blank range to help them establish a timeline.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
Police zero in on notorious bikie’s killers
Police have a list of people they believe know who killed notorious bikie Shane Bowden — and are hoping for a breakthrough.
WHAT TOP COP SAYS
THE ex-cop who waged war against Gold Coast outlaw motorcycle gangs says police must “put the foot back on the throat of the bikies” following the execution-style death of Shane Bowden.
Jim Keogh, the former head of the bikie-busting Rapid Action Patrol squad, said the “assassination”-style death of the Fink gangland heavy — almost a year on from the death of ex-bikie Shane Ross and friend Cameron Martin at Tallebudgeras — indicated control had been lost on Gold Coast streets.
He predicted the investigation would be protracted as the bikies went to ground, enacting their code of silence, and said now was the time for high-visibility policing and regular check-ins with bikies.
Mr Keogh said aside from the investigation police needed to “put the foot back on the throat of the bikies all around”.
MORE NEWS
Notorious bikie Shane Bowden shot at close range by two hooded gunman on Gold Coast
Shane Bowden shooting: The chequered life of slain Gold Coast bikie
Bikie-busting cops on border and hotel COVID patrol as gang member Shane Bowden flew into Gold Coast
“You need to establish, or re-establish control of the Gold Coast,” he said.
Bowden was gunned down in an execution-style killing as he returned home to a Pimpama unit about 12.10am Monday.
Police believe at least two hooded shooters waited at a car park nearby before ambushing Bowden and shooting him a “significant” amount of times to the head and chest at point-blank range.
The shooters remained on the run on Wednesday.
Bowden had recently returned to the Finks bikie gang after being kicked out of the Mongols.
He had only just arrived from Victoria weeks before his death.
Mr Keogh was critical of RAP officers being tasked to COVID-19 border patrols.
“From a police perspective you’ve got to maintain a strong presence and win each battle to control the war,” he said.
“It will never go away. There is too much market value, too much greed, too much pride for it to disappear completely.
MORE NEWS
Bikie Shane Bowden shot dead in execution-style killing on Gold Coast
Tayne Clarkson: Finks Gold Coast bikie president jailed for drug supply
Mongrel bikie gang branching out of Logan heartland to infiltrate Gold Coast
“But the key important issue is your police squad must be totally dedicated to fighting this war seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year, and not reallocated to subsidiary tasks like border protection.”
The retired superintendent said bikies had become “perhaps more covert” and far “more violent”.
“We had a host of issues. We had the Broachbeach brawl. We had the incident at Robina, we had a number of issues but none of such brutality,” he said.
He dismissed the suggestion of an all-out bikie war but added history showed an assassination of a bikie does not go unchecked.
“Shootings such as this, and the number of shots (fired) are a great concern to the community,” he said.
Police Minister Mark Ryan on Wednesday talked up the Labor government’s anti-bikie laws calling them the strongest in the country.
He said more than 60 detectives were working to solve the murder, which according to police, appeared to have been over an internal dispute.
‘Have we really come to this?’: Paid parking at tiny Gold Coast shops
Paid parking at a tiny suburban shopping village? It seems crazy, but this is the new reality for the Gold Coast.
Divisive art king’s shocking homecoming
The Gold Coast tried to cancel him, but internationally acclaimed artist Michael Zavros is braving a homecoming as guest artistic director for Bleach. He promises audiences will not be disappointed – but might be shocked.