Violent youth gangs brazenly wreaking havoc across Melbourne
Violent gangs of teenage boys, some only 14, are wreaking havoc across Melbourne’s suburbs, with street brawls, intimidation, carjackings and terrifying home invasions. What makes them tick? An ex-member has given an inside look.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Young thugs armed with dangerous weapons including tasers, hunting knives and machetes are leaving a bloody trail across Melbourne.
The violent gangs made up of teenage boys — some as young as 14 — wreak havoc in their own neighbourhoods and across the city, with street brawls, intimidation, carjackings and terrifying home invasions.
A Leader investigation found eight rival gangs running riot in outer suburbs.
The teenagers are brazen and reckless and active on social media, where they recruit new members, organise street fights with rival gangs and post videos and photos of brawls and weapons.
One boy, 15, told the Leader he ran with several of the gangs for nearly a year until he was jailed for car theft.
The teenager said he was never afraid, even while stealing luxury cars, and loved the camaraderie and the thrill, but being a gang member put his family through hell.
“I wouldn’t put my family through it again because it led to a lot of trouble, including people turning up in front of my house at all hours of the day and night,” he said.
The teen understands the lure of a gang — the feeling of belonging.
“Most people get involved because they’re a part of something — it was fun at the time until I went to jail,” he said.
Swinburne University criminology expert Associate Professor James Roffee agreed.
He said gangs historically offered young people a form of escapism and a level of excitement they couldn’t find in everyday life.
“The members could be lacking purpose and face difficult home lives and with new technologies and apps such as Instagram being used as a recruitment driver — they’re being lured in,” Assoc Prof Roffee said.
The boy’s father said he was violently bashed by a group of thugs after confronting them in his street while trying to protect his son.
“I thought I was going to die, they were laying punches and kicking me non-stop — I actually said to them ‘you’re going to kill me’, they then backed off — it was terrifying,” he said.
And even now, despite having quit the gangs, the family isn’t free of them.
As the Leader was meeting with the family last week, a group of several youths gathered at the front gate hurling abuse and threats.
The family called the police but the boys dispersed before they arrived.
‘NOT ENOUGH EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES’
The mother of a Cranbourne teen, 18, who is facing jail for assault and other charges, said she had been through “hell and back” since her son was “enticed” into a gang.
“It all started at job centres — this is where he got mixed up with the wrong people,” she said.
“There isn’t enough employment opportunities or activities out there for these teens — the system is failing them.”
She said the gangs terrorised her for months, smashing her car windows and threatening her.
She said the apartment complex at the former notorious Ambassador Hotel in Frankston was a mixing place for troubled young people.
“My son wants to move there because that’s where other young people have gone after prison,” she said.
On a nearby Cranbourne street, another family told the how they were “living in fear”, after a gang of armed teens armed stormed their property last month.
“I saw a group of about seven Sudanese youths standing there with what appeared to be guns and knives,” the mum said.
“I told my family to lock the house up, my daughter called the police and I then got in the car and began following them.
“I found one and he hit me when I tried to confront him — it was seriously terrifying.
“Melbourne has a serious gang problem — it’s out of control and someone is going to get seriously hurt or worse if they’re not stopped.”
Victoria Police Southern Metro Region Commander Libby Murphy said youth offending was occurring across a number of Melbourne metropolitan suburbs, but Operation Tidal — a new police crackdown on teen gangs, aggravated burglaries, violence and car thefts — was proving successful.
Children as young as 12 are among 396 youths facing almost 1000 charges.
“We’ve achieved some really positive results … however we know there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Region Commander Murphy said.
“We are committed to addressing youth related offending with a focus on robberies, public order offending and vehicle crime linked to serious offending.”
She said police actively monitored social media for any intelligence which may help them to prevent and detect crime.
CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL WEAPONS
Deadly weapons — some as cheap as $11 — are easily available on standard shopping websites and Melbourne’s young criminals are snapping them up.
One Cranbourne mother said she was aware of youth gangs in the area buying weapons from online sites.
“They can buy machetes and tasers — they also buy more dangerous weapons on the dark web,” she said.
The Leader found several high-voltage tasers and large hunting knives online, with prices as low as $20 for a taser and $11 for a small knife, while larger knives range from $25 to $40.
“Electric shock super high-voltage,” one sales pitch reads.
Another claimed to be a taser used by police: “Stun gun self-defence — defend yourself”.
Large knives are marketed as camping, hunting knives or “outdoor survival tools”.
The Australian Border Force said people should not assume purchases made online were invisible to authorities and said they regularly detected a variety of different weapons at the border including firearms, knives, knuckledusters, electric shock devices, nunchakus, slingshots, laser pointers, crossbows, batons, BB guns and imitation firearms.
“Companies often market these products online and they can generate a lot of interest on social media,” an ABF spokesman said.
“Some sellers claim they are not controlled, or that we can’t stop them at the border, but our message is simple — if you buy one online and have not already received import permission you should expect that we will find it, we will seize it and you may face prosecution.”
He said the ABF was well aware of the websites selling these goods and had the capability to detect imports of illicit goods via the sites.
“We’d encourage anyone with information about the illegal importation of firearms, weapons and related goods should contact Border Watch by visiting australia.gov.au/borderwatch — you can provide information anonymously,” he said.
MORE:
YOUNG THUGS USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO STREAM VICIOUS GANG FIGHTS
LINDSAY FOX’S COMPANY FINED FOR ILLEGAL GRASS LAWN
Victoria Police said it was also aware of a number of websites that facilitated the selling of prohibited weapons.
“Anyone who is engaging in illegal activity on the internet needs to be aware that Victoria Police actively monitor the websites and conduct proactive and covert investigations into online illegal activity,” Southern Metro Region Commander Libby Murphy said.
“If you are conducting criminal activity within these forums you will be caught and charged.”