All-out Dandenong bikie war always only a chance meeting away
THERE has been an uneasy ceasefire between the bikie gangs that call Dandenong their patch, but the fuse to reignite the feud was always only a chance meeting away.
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- Police officers on high alert for all-out bikie war in Victoria
- Bikie clubhouse in Dandenong South damaged in fire
Special feature Dirty Deeds: Our bikie underworld
FOR more than a year, there has been an uneasy ceasefire between the bikie gangs that call Dandenong their patch.
But the fuse that reignited the feuding between the Comancheros and the Rebels was always only a chance meeting away.
Hierarchy and discipline is part of the outlaw bikie code, and the gangs’ leadership mid-last year ordered their members to stand down from a war that involved bashings, shootings and tit-for-tat tattoo parlour firebombings.
For reasons that remain unclear, “high-level’’ members of the gangs became embroiled in a confrontation that threatened to turn deadly in early October. Weapons were produced and threats made.
POLICE OFFICERS ON HIGH ALERT FOR ALL-OUT BIKIE WAR IN VICTORIA
BIKIE CLUBHOUSE IN DANDENONG SOUTH DAMAGED IN FIRE
SPECIAL FEATURE DIRTY DEEDS: OUR BIKIE UNDERWORLD
When Comancheros and Rebels members spotted each other in a pub a week later, violence erupted.
A 24-year-old Rebel, who cannot be named because of a court order, and a “brother’’ are alleged to have been involved in three separate October incidents, including running down a rival Comanchero in a car. CCTV footage from a restaurant allegedly shows the pair approaching a Comanchero and punching him before a fight breaks out around terrified patrons.
Police say a silver knife was produced by one of the men.
In a scene reminiscent of a cult crime movie, the Rebels are alleged to have brought with them a black satchel containing something mysterious inside.
Whatever was inside that satchel, the Comanchero who peered inside is alleged to have taken two steps back.
A court last month heard that as the two Rebels drove away from the Dandenong restaurant in a silver Chrysler, the Comanchero walked toward them. It’s alleged he was struck by the car and rolled over the bonnet.
The Rebel who can’t be named — previously the target of a Comanchero-ordered drive-by shooting — is then alleged to have made a U-turn and, as he left, made a gun gesture at the “Como’’.
And with that, the war that was over was back on again.
The Herald Sun understands there is no truce between the gangs on the table.
Police from the anti-bikie Echo taskforce are bracing for further retaliations.
Although the alleged agitators of the fight were quickly arrested, it is almost certain the Comancheros delivered summary justice on the Rebels’ clubhouse on October 20.
Only hours after the Rebels began their annual national run, their clubhouse in England St, Dandenong, was firebombed. The Rebels returned from their ride to Albury-Wodonga to find destroyed vehicles, some belonging to high-ranking members.