Malaysia among Asian hotspots for Aussie outlaw motorcycle gangs

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Australia’s “bikie” gangs, or outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCG), are rapidly recruiting new members in Malaysia and other countries in Asia to join in their criminal activities, The Daily Telegraph has reported.

According to the Australian news site, the outlaw groups said to be involved in various criminal activities including drug trafficking and extortion are expanding their base of operations to Southeast Asia following crackdowns on them in their home country.

These gangs are actively signing up hundreds of Asians and working to gain a foothold and tap into local criminal networks in tourist destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore, Bali, Phuket, Jakarta and Chiang Mai, The Daily Telegraph said

Australian police’s Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace said that they detected a “number of OMCG members moving” out from the country, saying that the expansion to Asia was part of the gangs’ bid to “tap into underworld business opportunities in overseas markets”.

“In particular the Rebels have made a concerted effort to expand their international footprint, setting up chapters in Europe, the Middle East and South-East Asia,” the New South Wales Police’s Gangs Squad commander was quoted saying by The Daily Telegraph.

The Rebels, along with Hells Angels, Coffin Cheaters, Rock Machine, Bandidos, Mongols and Outlaws, are among Australia’s largest “bikie” gangs.

Australia’s police has already set up the National Anti-Gangs Squad to probe the “bikie” gangs’ expansion to Asia, with Australia’s Justice Minister Michael Keenan saying that it will lead the crackdown on the gangs.

“Through the National Anti-Gang Squad, Australia is leading the fight against the gangs’ criminal highways through South East Asia,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Keenan called the bikie gangs an “ongoing threat to Australia” and said they were “violent predators who profit from the misery of drug trafficking, drug manufacturing, extortion, prostitution and firearms trafficking”.

The Daily Telegraph said that Australia’s National Anti-Gang Squad has since helped nab 25 Australians overseas, adding that it had held a conference in June to build cooperation and share information about the bikie gangs’ strategies and networks.

Police from Australia, South East Asian countries — Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, as well as Canada, Denmark and the US — were present at the conference in Bangkok.