Police blast bikie base as ban looms

Baillieu government will move to introduce laws later this year that ban outlaw motorcycle groups in Victoria after a series of raids at properties linked to the Hells Angels in Melbourne's north yesterday.

But more than six months after the election and more than a year after the proposed laws were unveiled, the government will not set a date for when the legislation will be implemented and enforced.

The government confirmed it was still committed to the pre-election pledge just hours after four police raids netted drugs, a shotgun and ammunition.

 Police used explosives to gain access to Hells Angels headquarters in Thomastown yesterday morning. Photo: Jason South
In March last year the Coalition said Victoria had become a haven for motorcycle gangs because Labor had failed to follow the example of other states and propose tougher laws.

Then opposition leader Ted Baillieu accused the gangs of drug dealing, extortion and arson and said the Coalition's proposed laws would include new seizure provisions and the ability to demolish fortress-like compounds in the suburbs.

The laws would bring Victoria closer in line to South Australia, where the state government introduced laws making it harder for members of gangs to associate.

But late last year the High Court overturned a significant part of the law after it found the legislation undermined the independence of magistrates.

Former attorney-general Rob Hulls said Victoria's proposed laws were modelled on South Australia's and would be similarly rejected by the High Court, raising questions about the Coalition's commitment to tackling organised crime.

In statement yesterday, Robert Clark confirmed the laws would be introduced this year but would not say when they would be enforceable or how the government would overcome a High Court ruling.

''Years of inaction by the former government placed Victoria at risk of becoming the criminal bike gang capital of the country,'' Mr Clark said.

''The government was elected to take action against criminal bikie and similar gangs operating in Victoria and we're now getting on with the job of delivering on our commitment."

But Law Institute of Victoria spokesman James Dowsley said the laws undermined civil liberties. ''Making criminals out of a whole class of people is ill-conceived,'' he said.

''If these laws are introduced then any contact with a banned group through email or the like could leave otherwise … innocent people liable to a prison sentence. [Existing laws] are adequate.''

Detective Superintendent Doug Fryer said all four properties in yesterday morning's raids in Greensborough, Thomastown and Bundoora were linked to the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels.

The raids, which were conducted with the Australian Federal Police, included the group's Thomastown headquarters.

A 42-year-old Greensborough man was charged with possessing and trafficking a drug of dependence and possessing the proceeds of crime.

A 26-year-old Thomastown woman was interviewed by police regarding drug-related matters and released pending further inquiries.

Police would not confirm if raids were linked to escalating tensions between the Hells Angels and the Finks, which recently established a Melbourne base.

About 25 people from the two gangs were involved in a savage brawl in Adelaide less than two weeks ago that left four bikies in hospital.But Superintendent Fryer said the raids were linked to at least two serious assaults, firearms offences and drug trafficking allegations.

Several Hells Angels members attended the clubhouse yesterday, but it was empty when police stormed the building at 8.30am.

Hells Angels members would not comment on the assaults that are being investigated but said they were disappointed police had blasted open the gates of their headquarters to gain entry.

''If they rang us up obviously we would have opened them up for them. We've got nothing to hide. But that's what happens,'' one member told The Age.

Superintendent Fryer said the fortification of the clubhouse had not been an issue for police because explosives gave them easy access to the building.