Outlaw bikie Shane Bowden nowhere to be seen as Special Operations Group raid warehouse

NOTORIOUSLY violent interstate outlaw bikie Shane Bowden is believed to have moved to Victoria.

Police swoop on a property in Port Melbourne.

NOTORIOUSLY violent interstate outlaw bikie Shane Bowden is believed to have moved to Victoria.

The former senior Queensland-based Fink is understood to have joined forces with the newly formed Mongols.

Detectives from the anti-bikie Taskforce Echo and Special Operations Group officers raided a property, where Bowden was thought to be living, in Nott St, Port Melbourne, about 6am yesterday.

Witnesses told the Herald Sun heavily armed police surrounded a warehouse and repeatedly called out on a megaphone: "Shane Bowden, come out with your hands up".

But the bikie was nowhere in sight.

Police had a warrant to search the property and intelligence suggesting Bowden was living in a mezzanine area above the workshop.

The raid came as Queensland continued its crackdown on bikies with tough new legislation aimed to drive outlaw motorcycle gangs out of the state.

Bowden, 41, has an extensive criminal history and was only released last year after almost seven years behind bars for his involvement in one of the nation's most brutal, all-in bloody brawls.

Dubbed the "Ballroom Blitz", the showdown saw Bowden shoot Melbourne killer bikie Wayne Hudson, a former Finks member, as payback for defecting to the Hells Angels.

At the time, he had been on parole for drug trafficking and property offences.

He had also been convicted of assaulting a woman outside a nightclub in 1998.

Bowden, declared by a judge as a serious violent offender, was a key figure in the Finks and of its "Terror Team" whose motto is "violence with attitude".

But he is understood to be part of a national "patch-over" of the Finks to the Mongols.

He has even reportedly removed his Finks tattoos from his arms and back.

Police sources say there is no search for Bowden, who is not wanted over any crimes.

Victorian Mongol MC president Frank Dieni said the raided premises was not linked to the club.

He said one of its members, not Bowden, had rented out a room at the warehouse temporarily.

"It's not owned by us," Mr Dieni said.

"It's not our clubhouse. It's not our premises. It's got nothing to do with us."

He could not confirm whether Bowden had been staying at the warehouse.

But he said Bowden was not a member of his chapter.

In the United States, the Mongols are the sworn enemy of the Hells Angels.

There are fears their move into Melbourne could ignite outlaw bikie tensions to flashpoint.

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