The downside is from the age of 30 you are asked for a senior’s card, women at nightclubs stand up, not to dance but to offer you a comfortable seat before you break a hip, and a stroll in the Botanic Gardens can result in third-degree cranial sunburn.
She was no longer a threat and had built a new life after telling the truth. The contract killing, ordered in Victoria and carried out by an interstate bikie, was both vindictive and practical. It was a message to anyone on the periphery of the gang – inform and you risk death. The first international group established here was the Hells Angels in August 1975, with Melbourne and Sydney chapters totalling 24 members – 11 in Melbourne and 13 in Sydney.
Victoria Police responded by making them a major target with the long-running operation Wingclipping. Police successes included infiltrating a major outlaw motorcycle gang, busting large drug syndicates and thwarting murders. He lists their main activities as standover, extortion, assaults, contract and feud-based murders and drug trafficking. They have also been involved in illicit tobacco and firearms trafficking.
He says each of the major gangs have organised murders. The trouble is some of these hit teams are led by violent knuckleheads who don’t do their homework, meaning they regularly kill the wrong person. Establishing chapters in regional centres creates drug monopolies and aids national distribution. Moving into nightclub security gives bikies an advantage in selling so-called “party” drugs. The gangs’ “soldiers”, prepared to bash and shoot on demand, means drug debts are paid as requested. Ex-military are recruited as intimidators.