Police quell fears of Bikie Wars after firebombing

Fears of another bikie war are growing after a firebombing yesterday morning at a Brisbane tattoo studio, the second attack on a Rebels member this week.

FEARS of another bikie war are growing after a firebombing yesterday morning at a tattoo studio, in Brisbane’s north, owned by high-ranking Rebels member “Little” Mick Kosenko.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington says the situation is becoming out of control, as the State Government and senior police attempt to play down the “escalating” violence between the Rebels and the Bandidos.

The firebombing is the second attack on the Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Club in the past week, after Rebels member and former MMA fighter Gokhan “Pitbull” Turkyilmaz, 33, was shot in the groin and bashed with a baseball bat at his Upper Coomera home on Tuesday.

Gold Coast crime: Tattoo shop linked to Rebels bikie gang firebombed

Mick Kosenko’s tattoo parlour was firebombed in the latest attack on a Rebels member.

On February 10, a gang of Rebels bikies allegedly ambushed a Bandidos associate and shot him in broad daylight at a Logan shopping centre.

Court documents allege months of growing tensions between the two clubs over territory is the cause of at least some of the ongoing violence.

Queensland Rebels president "Little Mick" Kosenko.

More than 10 outlaw motorcycle gang members from both clubs have been charged over the incidents. The firebombing in Brendale was yesterday still under investigation but had been deemed deliberately lit.

Ms Frecklington said it was “clear a bikie turf war is raging on our streets”. “I don’t want innocent Queenslanders caught in the crossfire because of Labor’s soft laws,” she said.

Gokhan Turkyilmaz was shot at his Gold Coast home on Tuesday night. Picture: Facebook

Police Minister Mark Ryan said police were “on top of the situation” and were making arrests.

“They’ve got the strongest, toughest, most comprehensive legislation in the nation,” he said. “You can fumigate your house but every so often a few cockroaches come back.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Charysse Pond also played down the violence, saying it was the work of a “specific group” and the public was safe.

While Chief Supt Pond acknowledged the incidents between Rebels and Bandidos had “escalated” in recent weeks, she was confident the factions weren’t meeting in public.

Originally published as Police quell fears of Bikie Wars after firebombing