Victorian bikies: Toby Mitchell, Mark Basillie, Mark Matthews, Luke Maloney
Victoria Police continue to invest resources to “disrupt” bikie gangs across the state. We name some of the main players and delve into their brushes with the law here.
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Victoria Police say outlaw motorcycle gangs remain a significant problem across the state as they continue to invest resources to stop members breaking the law.
Police have committed specialist investigative resources, including Echo Taskforce and regional detectives, who “actively work to prevent, detect, disrupt and reduce the unlawful activities of OMCGs within Victoria”.
Clubhouses are now established across the state, including in regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne.
Cranbourne, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, Hallam, Fairfield, Campbellfield, Thomastown and Williamstown are all hot spots located in the metro area.
But bikies also have made their presence known in county Victoria including at Geelong, Bendigo, Echuca and Ballarat.
Police say gangs continue to grow and are always recruiting new members to boost their numbers.
“Outlaw motorcycle gangs recruit from rival groups, criminal networks, and vulnerable younger community members. OMCGs often target and recruit these vulnerable individuals who become trapped in a criminal lifestyle, they often can’t escape the club due to fear and threats of violence,” a spokesman said.
“While the gangs are made up of many, many people some names are bigger than others.”
Here are the big name bikies in trouble with the law:
Toby Mitchell - Mongols
Mitchell was recently denied entry to the Australian Open after he attempted to change his bail conditions in order to attend the game. He is on bail accused of slapping another man at an Echuca pub last year.
It is a condition of his bail that he cannot attend venues which serve alcohol. He sought to have this condition removed in order to attend the tennis but it was denied.
Mitchell is the president of the Mongols gang, rising through the ranks after he joined the group from the Bandidos in 2019. He has appeared in court multiple times since then; often with trusted barrister Damian Sheales.
He received a $2500 fine in September but escaped conviction for two separate street attacks in 2020, including an incident in Southbank where a homeless man knocked him out.
He is due to reappear in court on February 18.
Mark Balsillie - Mongols
The 36-year-old is due to stand trial this year after he was accused of possessing and trafficking cocaine.
He intends to fight the charges after pleading not guilty in August last year.
Balsillie also denied possessing pre-filled syringes of testosterone and growth hormones and handling three luxury cars – including a Lamborghini and Mercedes Benz — which were suspected proceeds of crime.
But police will allege six weeks worth of secretly recorded conversations are enough to take him off the streets.
In July last year he was appointed national sergeant-at-arms for the gang and is a close ally of Toby Mitchell.
He was a member of the rival Comancheros outfit until he was shot multiple times in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in 2017.
Mick Murray - Comanchero
Murray, 47, is the boss of the Comanchero gang and was arrested in November after Echo Taskforce detectives swooped on the gym owner, over a tax fraud operation.
The Comanchero outlaw bikie gang recently caused a stir when they converged outside a maximum security jail to send a message over the wall to their comrades remanded over the ANOM sting.
In January of this year about 60 bikies backed up Murray as they revved their bikes in an act of defiance.
He is due to appear in court this month.
Kosh Radford - Finks
Finks bikie gang recently embarked on a ride from their Cranbourne West club rooms to Wodonga.
Finks boss Koshan Rashidi, aka Kosh Radford, met with about six police in the club driveway on Friday 28 January before heading out on the ride which was monitored by Echo taskforce and police.
Radford is the world president for the bikie gang Finks.
Following a birthday bash-turned-brawl at the Centre Lounge on King St in March 2019, Radford was convicted and slapped with a $6000 fine for his involvement.
Pierce Williams - Finks
Williams is a member of the gangs Cranbourne chapter and in September was jailed after a violent home invasion that was sparked by a nude photo scandal.
Williams, 34, was sentenced in the County Court to a minimum three years’ jail after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.
Jasmin Destanovic - Hells Angels
In April last year Destanovic was granted bail because of Covid-19 judicial delays.
He was facing charges which included demanding $200,000 with threats to kill, possessing drugs and threatening to inflict injury.
He had allegedly attacked a man outside a hospital where the victim’s wife had just given birth. He then allegedly threatened to hurt the newborn baby and cut off the man’s fingers.
The Nomad chapter president is due to face a committal hearing in April 2022.
Luke Maloney - Hells Angels
Veteran Angel Luke Moloney has been elevated to national president of the gang, however there is speculation that this role exists.
Moloney had been a key member of the darkside chapter but when he supposedly opened up a “city chapter” to rival the Mongols gang, he rose to national president.
In early August of 2021, Moloney’s house was raided where police allegedly located a firearm and steroids.
Mark Matthews - Bandidos
Bandido enforcer Mark Matthews fronted court earlier this year in a bid to overturn a seven-year sentence for the brutal bashing of a woman in Geelong.
The sergeant-at-arms faces deportation to New Zealand after he was jailed in 2019 for breaking into the woman’s home and seriously assaulting her with a piece of wood while her two young children were nearby.
In February, Matthews took his fight to the Court of Appeal arguing against the jurors’ guilty verdict.
His appeal was refused and he remains behind bars.
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