Two men charged after heavily armed police storm Comanchero gang clubhouses in Melbourne
UPDATE: COMANCHEROS enforcer Norm Meyer looked on as police raided the gang’s South Melbourne clubhouse in a spectacular crackdown on the outlaw bikies.
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COMANCHEROS enforcer Norm Meyer looked on as police raided the gang’s South Melbourne clubhouse in a spectacular crackdown on the outlaw bikies.
The club sergeant-at-arms, who has been seen marching in protests with the militant CFMEU, observed police after an armoured truck dramatically smashed its way into the heavily fortified clubhouse on Thursday.
Police also raided a Williamstown clubhouse and homes in Oak Park and Broadmeadows.
The raids followed a vicious attack on a man who tried to leave the notorious bikie gang.
Detective Superintendent Peter De Santo, of the Anti-Gangs Division, said police were looking for evidence over an assault on a 29-year-old former Comanchero outside his business in Johnston St, Collingwood, on July 21.
Det Supt De Santo said two Comancheros had broken the man’s arms and inflicted “serious facial injuries”, leaving him in a very serious condition.
“The assault was over … a former member of the Comancheros (attempting) to disassociate himself from the club,” he said.
“The assault happened in broad daylight in the presence of ... people who work for (the victim) and members of the public in the street.”
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Dramatic scenes as police raid Comancheros South Melbourne clubhouse http://t.co/rLQ5XllSfL @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/VJUqBrNC29
— Samantha Landy (@SamLandy) July 30, 2014Det Supt De Santo said the attack showed the lengths to which bikie gangs would go.
He said police had given bikies at the South Melbourne clubhouse “ample opportunity” to let officers in, but got no response, giving them the right to “enter by force”.
In Williamstown, “the door was opened for us”, he said.
Vincent Meyer, 24, of Broadmeadows, and Hawre Sherwani, 23, of Oak Park, appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, each facing 10 charges over the Collingwood attack.
Charge sheets outline allegations that the men trespassed at Smash Masters Crash Repair and “continuously kick(ed) and punch(ed) (the victim) as he lay motionless, causing two broken arms requiring surgery”.
The pair was remanded in custody until October, having made no application for bail.
Heavily armed officers massed outside the South Melbourne clubhouse about 9am, as uniformed police sealed off Thistlethwaite St.
Getting no response from inside, they sliced its roller door in two with power-cutting equipment.
An armoured BearCat truck then battered its way through the remaining thick metal sheets shielding the entrance. Officers in riot gear marched in, weapons held high.
During the raids, the Herald Sun glimpsed motorbikes, a well-stocked bar, and a barbecue inside.
Three Comanchero members wearing T-shirts bearing the gang’s logo arrived about 10.45am but were turned away.
They stood outside a police barrier and watched as about a dozen detectives from the Echo Taskforce searched the building until 11am.
People working in premises nearby took a break from work to watch the drama unfold.
One said the raids were becoming common: “Last time, (police) locked me out (of my workplace); this time, they’ve locked me in.”
Mr Meyer has been a person of interest for the anti-bikie Echo Taskforce for some time, and was arrested in New South Wales last year when he visited for a gang meeting.
He has been a high-profile figure in Melbourne’s building industry, and was caught on video trying to collect a debt while wearing bikie colours.
Mr Meyer also once entered the home of the Master Builders Association federal vice-president, Trevor Evans, demanding payment over a disputed debt.
Mr Evans called police, and footage of the incident surfaced in May last year.
Mr Meyer had also been photographed walking alongside the CFMEU assistant state secretary, Shaun Reardon, during a protest march through Melbourne.
Thursday’s dramatic police raids on the Comancheros followed statewide raids on 22 properties linked to the Rebels motorcycle gang on Tuesday.