Police fear ‘suspiciously quiet’ Hells Angels are set for power play

With the Comanchero smashed by the AN0M breakthrough this week, police fear another bikie gang is on the horizon, waiting to pounce – the Hells Angels.

With the Comanchero smashed by the AN0M breakthrough this week, police fear another bikie gang is on the horizon, waiting to pounce — the Hells Angels.

NSW Police say they have undermined the Comanchero — the nation’s cocaine heavyweights — by targeting major players with strategically restrictive court orders and an overt presence.

Now, Criminal Groups Squad commander Detective Superintendent Rob Critchlow, said he would do the same to the Hells Angels if they make a push.

“The Comanchero are still a major threat but the ones who are concerning me the most right now are the Hells Angels,” Det Supt Critchlow told The Daily Telegraph.

Detective Superintendent Rob Critchlow, commander of the Criminal Groups Squad, said he fears the Hells Angels bikie gang are set to make a power play. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

“They are suspiciously quiet.

“They are mirroring what the Comanchero did and trying not to draw attention to themselves, which is what the Comanchero did before they exploded.

“So we’re turning to look at the Hells Angels now.”

More than 220 arrests across Australia this week as part of Operation Ironside saw some of the nation’s biggest names put behind bars, charged with offences including enormous drug importations and gun dealing.

In NSW, a high number of those arrested were unsurprisingly associated with bikie gangs.

Mr Critchlow has warned the Hells Angels that police are watching for any criminal activity they may get involved with.

The Comanchero have become the biggest cocaine importers into Australia, with links to well known and powerful drug lords like Mark Buddle and Hakan “Big Hux” Ayik.

But while the Comanchero have prospered, others have fallen away.

Last Wednesday, ACT Police arrested one-time Nomads national president Michael Clark at a home in the ACT.

Clark, 39, had risen through the ranks over the years and in the wake of Sleiman Tajjour — the brother of ex-Nomad bikie Moudi and cousin of Michael Ibrahim — going to prison, had stepped up to take over the club.

Widespread arrests as part of the AN0M encrypted app breakthrough have seen the Comanchero bikie gang severely impacted, including their exiled national president Mark Buddle. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.

At the time the Nomads had a stronghold in the ACT.

But the creation of Strike Force Essendene by NSW and ACT Police built up pressure on the club, and saw Clark leave as leader.

Police say Clark’s alleged crimes – including drug supply and supplying firearms – could have been part of an attempt by him to return to the top ranks of the bikie gang.

Det Supt Critchlow said Strike Force Essendene had been successful in all but eradicating the Nomads from the ACT and southern NSW.

“They had complete control throughout Canberra and then there were some shootings in southern NSW,” he said.

“They (the Nomads) essentially ran straight through the Rebels who had previously been strong, and there was a couple of Rebels shot and they just couldn’t fight back.

“In the old days we would have left it to the locals, they might have made some arrests and left it at that.

“But I wanted to find out what was driving it and once we worked out it was the Nomads we wanted to take out the leadership.”

Former Nomads OMCG president Sleiman Tajjour is due out of prison later this year, offering an obvious leadership option for a club in disarray.

Last Wednesday, ACT Police arrested one-time Nomads national president Michael Clark at a home in the ACT as part of the AN0M breakthrough. NSW Police have been working with their counterparts to reduce the impact of the Nomads in Canberra for some years.

While they are now on the ropes, there is one man who may look to return them to a position of power.

Sleiman Tajjour is due out of jail in August and after being devoid of leadership for so long will offer up an obvious presidential option for the Nomads.

But Det Supt Critchlow said both Criminal Groups Squad – and the closely aligned Raptor Squad, who were last year put under the control of Detective Superintendent Jason Weinstein – would be there waiting.

“The psychology of those involved in OMCGs, and particularly those who have been in custody for a while, is that they want to re-establish themselves,” he said.

“But Raptor will be there to welcome him when he comes out, I’m sure.

“I used to deploy them quickly and I know Jason (Weinstein) does too. The split has worked well. It’s let us work on long-term projects and fixes, while Raptor does a lot of the overt, in your face, work.”

Det Supt Critchlow said another benefit of the split was the ability to better focus and use the courts and the powers available to them.

Drug lord Hakan “Big Hux” Ayik was at the centre of this week’s AN0M arrests.

In their battle to control the warring Hamzy and Alameddine extended crime families, and more recently impact senior associates of the Comanchero, the Criminal Groups Squad has placed Serious Crime Prevention Orders on certain individuals.

The SCPOs severely limit the person’s liberties, even down to what suburbs they can visit.

“There’s a lot of opportunities for us and we’ve learnt to engage with the courts, and a lot of the work we do you won’t hear about,” Det Supt Critchlow said.

“We hear a lot of complaints from people who say we are encroaching on their civil liberties.

“What I would say to that is that I don’t have time to waste on innocent people. We’ve learnt a lot about the courts and it’s all aimed at reducing crime, not civil liberties.”

Originally published as Police fear ‘suspiciously quiet’ Hells Angels are set for power play