Tagged: Melbourne graffiti crew face hundreds of charges
POLICE have busted a notorious gang of graffiti vandals allegedly behind more than 70 attacks on Melbourne’s trains, which stranded thousands of passengers.
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POLICE have busted a notorious gang of graffiti vandals allegedly behind more than 70 attacks on Melbourne’s trains, which stranded thousands of passengers.
Transit police had been monitoring the group for a year and raided three properties early on Friday — seizing graffiti implements and cars.
The Sunday Herald Sun watched as a key figure in the crew — now facing 220 charges — was marched out of a Bayswater home.
Police spent more than two hours searching the 35-year-old’s property and removing bags of evidence.
Two other men were arrested in Forest Hill and South Morang.
One faces more than 100 charges.
TRAIN VANDALS COP A SPRAY OVER GRAFFITI
CRACKDOWN ON OUR MOST WANTED TRAIN VANDALS
The co-ordinated bust came as authorities revealed:
CAREER vandals aged in their 50s and children as young as 12 are among those wreaking havoc across the rail network;
VANDALS are interfering with rail signals and stopping trains at least once a week to spray their tags;
THE Werribee, Frankston, Craigieburn and Upfield lines are the most targeted by graffiti, as well as central Melbourne.
It’s alleged the arrested graffiti crew had operated across Melbourne since July last year, causing more than $30,000 damage and numerous delays and cancellations across 74 tagging attacks. The Sunday Herald Sun believes trains parked at rail sidings were a key target.
Electronic equipment was among property seized during Friday’s raids, which began at about 6am.
An orange Holden sedan was seized in Bayswater and a silver Ford sedan confiscated at South Morang.
Sgt Duncan Browne of the transit safety division said vandals targeting Melbourne’s rail system aimed to “destroy property, disrupt services and create an immense amount of danger”.
Crews could comprise five or six vandals or as many as 50, with increased security at rail storage sidings increasingly spurring vandals to attack trains while they were moving.
“They’re well organised, they’re well networked, they plan their jobs,’’ Sgt Browne said.
“Graffiti is a cashless criminal subculture so there needs to be something attached to why you want to do it. Their tag is their cash — it’s their notoriety, it’s their fame. To go bigger, higher, more tags gives you credit within the scene. And trains remain at the top of their tree.”
Men aged in their 20s or 30s made up the core of vandals.
But a small group aged in their 50s who mostly struck in Melbourne’s south were among those recently targeted.
“They started graffitiing trains in the 1980s. They came together as teenagers — it’s 30 years of offending,” said Sgt Browne.
Latest data from Metro Trains shows graffiti and vandalism have this year been responsible for an average 49 delays a month and an average eight monthly cancellations.
As recently as Friday night, vandals caused delays of up to 20 minutes on the Werribee line.
There were 730 graffiti attacks on trains and 6107 on stations in 2017/18, but the figures have been falling, with a specialist surveillance unit and network of 9000 CCTV cameras tackling the problem.
“Metro’s resolve to tackle graffiti on the rail network has never been stronger — because for every train that is vandalised, that’s one less train getting passengers where they need to go,’’ said general manager of safety and security Anthony Fewster.
The 35-year-old Bayswater man was allegedly involved in more than 70 offences and faces charges including criminal damage, burglary, trespassing and possessing anything with the intent to destroy or damage property.
A 22-year-old Forest Hill man was charged with criminal damage. Both were bailed to appear in Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on January 10. A 19-year-old man from South Morang allegedly involved in more than 10 offences faces 106 charges including criminal damage, burglary, trespassing and possessing anything with the intent to destroy or damage property. He was bailed to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on November 12.