Eight members of outlaw motorcycle gangs are preparing to face court after a night of raids and arrests following violent attacks in Melbourne’s south-east.
The men are all affiliated to the Comancheros or Hells Angels, the two clubs targeted in recent shootings that reignited fears of a bikie war on Melbourne’s streets.
But the police response has been swift, with arrests and charges laid overnight relating to drugs, weapons, assaults, blackmail, extortion and proceeds-of-crime offences.
Clubhouses of both gangs and eight private properties were raided. Police seized seven firearms.
Five Comancheros and three Hells Angels were held in custody overnight to face court on Wednesday.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Steve Fontana said some of those arrested were high-ranking members of their clubs. One man was wearing a bullet-proof vest at the time of his arrest.
“We think we’ve apprehended some of the key players,” Mr Fontana said.
The arrests came during a large operation involving local detectives, special operations officers, operations response group, public order response team and the critical incident response team.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh said the operation had been planned for some time, but the recent “indiscriminate use of firearms” had meant police decided to act on Tuesday.
“Certainly the activities of the past few days have been concerning to us,” she said.
The Hells Angels’ new darkside chapter clubhouse in Seaford was sprayed with bullets on Monday night, only hours after two businesses linked to the Comancheros in Dandenong and Hallam were shot at in the morning.
Two undetonated home-made bombs were found inside one of the businesses, a gym.
Earlier, a Comanchero chapter president was shot in the back. He later checked himself out of a Melbourne hospital.
Seven men will face the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning, with the other to appear in Dandenong.
