Members of six outlaw motorcycle gangs have defected and are planning to establish a new Nomads chapter.
Police intelligence suggests the notorious Nomads bikie gang are expanding to Tasmania, raising fears of tensions between established outfits.
The Nomads will join rival gangs the Devil’s Henchmen, the Satan’s Riders, the Black Uhlans, the Outlaws, the Rebels and the Bandidos across the Bass Strait.
Police intelligence suggests the notorious Nomads bikie gang are expanding to Tasmania, raising fears of tensions between established outfits
The exact location for the new chapter is still unknown, and the move comes after a handful of members of other clubs, including the Rebels and the Outlaws defected, ABC News reported.
The Nomads are already established in New South Wales and South Australia, but will be the first time they branch off the mainland.
Police Commissioner Darren Hine was unwilling to discuss details of the impending arrival.
‘We’re concerned with any outlaw motorcycle gang that is coming to Tasmania or operating within Tasmania,’ he said.
High profile Nomads members include former chapter president Sam Ibrahim, the brother of nightclub boss John Ibrahim, and Moudi Tajjour, a cousin of the Ibrahims.
High profile Nomads members include former chapter president Sam Ibrahim, the brother of nightclub boss John Ibrahim, and Moudi Tajjour, a cousin of the Ibrahims
Ibrahim is currently serving a nine year sentence in jail for planning to supply illegal firearms.
Police argue members of the Newcastle charter have been going ‘tit for tat’ with rival gang, the Finks for over 12 months, with seven drive by shootings and firebombings involving the gangs across the Hunter Valley throughout the first nine weeks of this year.
The Newcastle chapters of the Finks and Nomads have seen their numbers rise in the first few months of 2018, as the two groups battle for supremacy in the region.
Police allege the influx of gangs in Tasmania have surpassed it’s South Australian counterparts, with over 260 known members residing in the state.
‘We know they are coming here to set up criminal enterprise networks and we want to make sure the Tasmanian community is well protected against these groups.
‘We’ve been quite open — we don’t want outlaw motorcycle gangs in Tasmania, especially those ones we know are involved in criminal activity, and Tasmania is not open for business and Tasmania is not open for criminal outlaw motorcycle gangs.’
The news comes after Tasmania began the process of implementing laws banning bikies from wearing club colours, a step that New South Wales and Queensland have also taken.
Up to two dozen Nomads OMCG members gathered in Canberra last weekend where the photo was taken.
The powerful Strike Force Raptor and its strict anti-consorting laws mean bikies can no longer gather together, forcing them to the nation’s capital.
Tajjour, 34, a former vice president of the group and convicted killer, posted the image and a series of others to Instagram from the weekend’s celebrations.
For the laws to be effectively imposed in Tasmania, the Police Minister would have to specify which outlaw figures are unable to wear their colours in public or associate with one another.
The news comes after Tasmania began the process of implementing laws banning bikies from wearing club colours, a step that New South Wales and Queensland have also taken