By Parker McKenzie
A 30-year-old Ferntree Gully resident and alleged Hell’s Angels Leader faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday 17 February on charges of intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing serious injury, assault, extortion and assault with a weapon.
The man was arrested on Friday 11 February during a police raid at a Ferntree Gully house by Echo Taskforce detectives – an anti-bikie taskforce – as police launched an operation after a man in his 20s was assaulted at his Reservoir home on Sunday 6 February.
The man was arrested alongside two others alleged to be leaders of the Hell’s Angels. No bail application was made, with the man remaining in custody until his next hearing.
In recent years Echo Taskforce has carried out several raids of properties throughout the Dandenong Ranges in response to criminal activity within local motorcycle clubs.
In 2013, a house was raided in Tecoma as a part of a police operation which saw 700 police officers carry out around 60 raids on clubhouses and properties searching for a M1 and an AK-47 rifle suspected of being used in a shooting by the Hell’s Angels.
In 2020, police also attended addresses in Tecoma and Montrose as part of an operation which saw six people arrested and 14 firearms seized.
In January 2020, a 35-year-old man from Kilsyth was charged with murder and a 30 year-old Tecoma man was charged with drug possession in connection to the death of Croydon man Paul Virgona on 9 November 2019.
Both were connected to the Mongols outlaw motorcycle club, who had a clubhouse in a commercial property in Ferntree Gully until 2020, which was shut down when it ran afoul of Knox City Council permits.
“Victoria Police is aware that members of the Mongols eastside chapter have vacated a property in Ferntree Gully which was utilised as their clubhouse,” a Police spokeswoman said at the time.
“Police will continue to monitor the activities of OMC members and the public can be confident police will respond to any illegal behaviour and ensure a safe environment for members of the community.”
Founded in Fontana, California in 1948 after several smaller motorcycle clubs merged, the Hell’s Angels expanded to Australia in 1975 with chapters in Melbourne and Sydney, by which time their reputation for causing panic – both real and moral – preceded them.
Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson launched his career writing about the motorcycle gang in California in his 1967 book Hell’s Angels, which helped spread their reputation for violence, drug use and lawlessness.
“Instead of losing quietly, one by one, they have banded together with a mindless kind of loyalty and moved outside the framework, for good or ill,” Mr Thompson wrote.
“They may not have an answer, but at least they are still on their feet.”
The Mongols – like the Angels – were also founded in California in the late 1960s.
While the motorcycle clubs in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne today are different to their 1960s American counterparts, what hasn’t changed is their alleged outlaw nature.
