Rival bikie gangs are rapidly bolstering their numbers in country New South Wales as fears increase that a violent ‘turf war’ is on the verge of breaking out.
The Newcastle chapters of the Finks and Nomads have seen their numbers rise in the first few months of 2018, as the groups battle for supremacy in the Hunter Valley.
In just the first nine weeks of this year there have been seven drive-by shootings and two firebombings across the region involving the gangs, leaving locals living in fear.
Police sources have told Daily Mail Australia they fear a bikie war could erupt, leading them to initiate a task force to crack down on the rival gangs before violence turns deadly.
Escalating violence between rival bikie gangs around Newcastle, north of Sydney, has sparked fears of a turf war (Pictured are members of the Newcastle chapter of the Nomads)
There have been seven shootings and two bombings in the area since the start of this year with police believing the violence involves the Nomads and Finks (pictured) chapters in the region
While much focus in recent weeks has been on bikie shootings across Sydney, just a few hours north tensions have been escalating over the past 12 months.
Where two years ago members of rival gangs would leave friendly comments to their rivals on Facebook, the goodwill seems to have dried up.
Despite the power of bikie gangs still residing in capital cities along the east coast, a number of troublemakers have emerged from the Newcastle area in recent times.
Heavily-tattooed Finks member Jesse Johnston found the headlines last year after he was kicked out of Australia by border force officials.
Johnston, 22, was sent back to New Zealand last October leaving his chapter in need of a new Sergeant at Arms.
Just months after his deportation the chapter was rocked again, with Finks president Andrew Russell Manners jailed in late February after assaulting Strike Force Raptor officers.
The feud between the two gangs is believed to have begun last year, around the time Nomad enforcer Blake Kevin Martin bashed a rival Finks member with a crow bar.
Just 24 hours after Martin’s incident Nomads again went on the attack, glassing and head-butting two men during a Saturday night out at a bar.
Newcastle-based Finks member Jesse Johnston (pictured) was kicked out of Australia last year by border force officials. He is not alleged to be involved in the recent spate of violence
Blake Kevin Martin (pictured) was last year convicted of violently bashing a rival Finks member at a Newcastle pub. Daily Mail Australia is not alleging Martin is involved in recent incidents
Members of the Newcastle Finks chapter pose in their MC colours. The gang has reportedly undergone a major recruitment drive over the past year
Jesse Johnston (far right) is pictured wearing his club cut alongside fellow members before his deportation
But while tensions momentarily calmed, they have escalated again in recent months with a series of tit-for-tat attacks.
Daily Mail Australia is not alleging all members or associates of the Finks or Nomads are involved in the current spate of violence.
A Nomads clubhouse in Newcastle was the first target, when it was firebombed just four days into January 2018.
It was followed a week later by a drive-by shooting of a nearby home in Clarence St on January 15.
Two weeks later there was another brazen drive-by shooting of a house on Paradise Street at Kurri, on the outskirts of Newcastle.
On February 13, just over a month after the last shooting, the same Clarence St home was shot at again.
Tensions in the apparent feud escalated to seemingly new levels last week, with two shootings in less than 72 hours.
The first saw the home of jailed Finks president Andrew Russell Manners attacked in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of March 1. His partner and daughter who were home at the time escaped uninjured.
On March 4, a man was hit in the leg during a drive-by shooting on Deschamps Close near Maitland.
Since the start of 2018 there have been seven drive-by shootings and two bombings, leading police to warn a tit-for-tat war is on the verge of breaking out
Police have established Task Force Darnay in response to the violence and have shut down a number of bikie clubhouses across the region (pictured)
A raid on the Nomads clubhouse last weekend led to it being declared a restricted premises
Just 24 hours earlier Detective Superintendent Wayne Humphrey issued a warning to the two MCs to stop the violence.
‘This is a targeted attack between two groups who are undertaking this criminality,’ he told media last week.
‘They have a misguided code of silence and we’ve got to try and break that down.
‘I’m always going to be concerned someone innocent might be injured, or worse, and that’s why it’s essential that we… bring this type of behaviour to an end.
‘As a result of this ongoing dispute between these two gangs, Strikeforce Darnay has been commenced to investigate the outlaw gangs in the Greater Hunter area.’
Months after Jesse Johnston (pictured) was deported back to New Zealand, the Newcastle Finks chapter took another hit when president Andrew Russell Manners was jailed in February