‘They wear designer clothes and carry bum bags and knives’: Inside the child gang sweeping across Australia – and the terrifying social media accounts where they boast about drugs and weapons
- Brazen teenagers who call themselves ‘eshays’ are boasting about crime online
- Social media accounts show the teenagers showing off weapons and drugs
- One former cop has described the so-called gang as ‘little wannabe gangsters’
Brazen teenagers who wear designer clothes and carry bum bags are taking to social media to boast about drugs, weapons and violent schoolyard brawls.
The schoolkids, who congregate in groups and call themselves ‘eshays’ or ‘lads’, are part of a disturbing so-called gang sweeping across Australia and terrifying parents.
Bond University criminologist and former police officer Terry Goldsworthy has called on authorities to crack down on the ‘little wannabe gangsters’.
‘They’re just bullies and just cowards and ultimately criminals, because they’re committing criminal acts,’ he told A Current Affair.
Teenage thugs who call themselves ‘eshays’ are boasting about drugs and weapons online
In one image posted online a cap and balaclava-clad boy (pictured), whose identity is concealed, boldly holds up a sharp blade
Despite calls for police to crackdown on the anti-social behaviour, the brazen teens continue to post disturbing acts online to accounts with thousands of followers.
One social media account which appears to be primarily used to share updates on the so-called gang’s unruly behaviour has an extremely threatening biography.
‘Like my posts or me and the boys will beat the living sh*t out of you c***t,’ it reads.
In one image shared online, a shirtless boy who conceals his identity with a cap and balaclava boldly holds up a sharp blade. The image is captioned: ‘I’ll jab ya dog.’
In another series of shots a young schoolboy can be see inhaling thick smoke through a bong which has a cannabis plant engraved on it.
Another image shows a young man inhale smoke from a makeshift marijuana bong
It’s been claimed that the so-called child gang has members across Australia in areas including Sydney, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast
Other posts viewed by tens of thousands of people shows children – in their school uniform and on campus – brawling while other classmates cheer them on.
Eshays are known for their trademark style – which typically includes flashy Nike shoes, high-end branded polo shirts and gym shorts or tracksuit pants.
One parent, known only as David, told A Current Affair his son had come home from school and showed him an unprovoked ‘eshay’ gang attack against two classmates.
‘It’s very concerning, because I’m sure there’s parents out there that don’t know that their kids are being assaulted,’ David said.
He said it was part of the ‘eshay’ gang culture to start brawls as a way of gaining respect.
‘And they wear designer clothing, carry bum bags, speak a certain way, some of them carry knives,’ he added.
It’s believed that members of the gang like to wear designer clothing and carry bum bags (pictured from a believed gang social media page)
In another series of shots a young man can be see inhaling smoke through a bong, which has what appears to be a cannabis plant engraved on it
A concerned parent said that his understanding of the gang was that they liked to instigate fights