Associates of Outlaws bikie gang spotted flaunting club regalia in Darwin amid fears the club will set up a Darwin chapter

THE Outlaws bikie gang has been quietly building a base in Darwin, and some police believe it is only a matter of time before the gang sets up a formal chapter in the Top End.

Darwin associates of the Outlaws outlaw motorcycle gang flaunt club regalia, marking a potential move of the club into the Top End.

THE Outlaws bikie gang has been quietly building a base in Darwin, and some police believe it is only a matter of time before the gang sets up a formal chapter in the Top End.

The gang has ballooned to 23 chapters in Australia since it established a presence in the country in 1994, with chapters in Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.

Since March, a group of Outlaws associates has been openly flaunting club regalia in Darwin.

Outlaws leather bikie jacket seized in raids on bikie clubhouses.

The Shepparton member later visited Darwin, and posed for a photos in full leathers alongside half a dozen Darwin men wearing club singlets.

The photos, posted online, have caught the eye of anti-gangs police, who are particularly concerned about convicted killer and standover man Shane Mulhall’s presence at a gathering.

The Outlaws claim on their website they are “not a criminal organisation” but are a club “rich in history and tradition”, which police and the media have misrepresented.

A Darwin associate of the Outlaws bikie gang (right) with a fully patched member of the club’s Shepparton chapter. Picture: Supplied

“To say that (members) are criminals or people of a lesser moral code than the rest of society is a tainted opinion,” the club’s website says.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission lists the club among the 39 outlaw motorcycle gangs operating in Australia.

Police sources say an Outlaws chapter in Darwin would mark a significant shift in the bikie landscape in Darwin, and could prompt a turf war between the newcomers and their traditional rivals, the Hells Angels, which is the gang with the most firmly established foothold in the Territory.

Convicted killer and notorious Darwin standover man Shane Mulhall (right) pictured with an associate of the Outlaws bikie gang.

Police efforts have seen the other gang with a traditional foothold in Darwin, the Rebels, virtually disappear, with president Andy Summerfield and sergeant-at-arms Shannon Althouse both serving long jail stints for ordering a hatchet and machete attack on a rival.

The third bikie gang with a presence in Darwin is a small contingent of Bandidos.

NT Police yesterday vowed they would continue aggressively policing bikie gangs.

Superintendent Kerry Hoskins said: “The Northern Territory Police, as member of National Task Force Morpheus, work closely with a broad range of law enforcement agencies to disrupt and prevent the criminal enterprises of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) through intelligence led responses.

The Outlaws bikie gang’s Shepparton clubhouse. The Shepparton chapter has close links to Darwin associates who police believe will set up a Northern Territory chapter of the gang

“We will continue to use all the capabilities at our disposal to proactively and collaboratively target OMCGS and prevent any risk of new or current OMCGs gaining a strong foothold in the Territory

The Outlaws did not respond to the NT News’s inquiries.