Top cop warns bikie violence is killing innocent people
Several Melburnians have already lost their lives in the past year as bikie violence spills out onto the streets, and police are now warning more innocent lives could be lost.
Police & Courts
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Victoria’s top cop for fighting organised crime has warned innocent people are getting killed because of an increase in bikie gang violence.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Mick Frewen’s warning comes as anti-bikie police from across the world gather in Melbourne today for a three-day gangs conference.
The inaugural Victoria Police event, organised by the force’s Echo taskforce, will see a range of experts talk about gang investigations, intelligence gathering and methods on how to disrupt organised crime.
Mr Frewen, who is in charge of Crime Command, said the last year had seen a worrying escalation in gang violence.
“Over the past 12 months a number of our gangs, including OMCGs and Middle Eastern organised crime groups, have been at conflict and involved in significant public offending such as homicides and shootings.
“While much of this violence is targeted, we know it has a significant impact on the
community’s perceptions of safety and increasingly we are seeing innocent parties get caught up in these incidents and end up killed or seriously injured.”
Innocent security guard Aaron Khalid Osmani and patron Richard Arow were killed on April 14 last year during a drive-by shooting at Prahran nightclub Love Machine.
The son of underworld figure Nabil Maghnie – himself killed in a shooting in January – was one of the men charged over the murders.
And police are still investigating whether the EastLink murder of fruiterer Paul Virgona last November was a case of mistaken identity.
Mongols bikies Aaron Ong and Josh Rider were arrested and charged with the murder in January.
Speaking after the arrests, Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh said: “We have been at pains to say Mr Virgona has no criminal associations and there is nothing in his background that would suggest why he or his family would be targeted in this heinous crime.”
This week’s conference will see police and crime experts share insights and experiences with criminal gangs such as outlaw motorcycle gangs, Middle Eastern organised crime groups, prison gangs and other emerging criminal groups.
“The Victorian gang environment is increasingly complex and linked to serious organised crime, which then results in significant high harm high impact offending,” Mr Frewen said.
“The groups are also often significantly involved in the drug trade, which also presents further harm to the community.
“There is no doubt that the issue of gangs is not solely a Victorian issue – it’s something that we see in other states across Australia and countries throughout the world.
“A conference like this gives us an opportunity to bring together people who are
experts in their field, to collectively share that knowledge and also learn from each other.
“It also helps us build a better collective awareness of current issues and what is being done proactively to address gang-related crime within Victoria, Australia and internationally.
“We expect to be able to take a lot away from the forum that will allow us to ensure we are doing everything we can to best protect the Victorian community.”
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