Seven people have been arrested and three guns have been seized in the past 24 hours as police crackdown on gang-related crime to stop the bloodshed on Sydney streets.
NSW Police this week launched Taskforce Erebus to investigate a spate of recent murders and other serious organised crime plaguing the city’s southwest.
The taskforce – operating in partnership with the NSW Crime Commission, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Australian Federal Police – will see an additional 60 full-time investigators working to tackle outlaw activities.
Detectives on Tuesday executed a number of search warrants across the state at properties linked to members of the Comanchero and Rebels outlaw motorcycle groups.
Police have seized three firearms and arrested seven people in the past 24 hours as they crack down on serious criminal activity across
Pictured: Police seize guns as part of under Taskforce Erebus
At 6am, officers raided homes south of Sydney, in Wrights Beach, Worrigee, North Nowra, Warrawong, Wollongong, and Kearsley.
Two men, both 26 , and one of whom is the Sergeant at Arms of the South Coast chapter of the Comancheros, the other an associate – were arrested at Wrights Beach and Worrigee.
They have been charged with a number of commercial drug supply and proceeds of crime offences, while other members and associates of the chapter were spoken with and served consorting bans.
Police will allege each man supplied more than 2kg of MDMA and more than 700 grams of cocaine using the ‘ANOM’ application between September 2020 and June 2021.
An hour later, Raptor Squad officers carried out searches at homes in Blaxlands Ridge, Glossodia, Wilberforce, and Blacktown on associates of the Rebels OMCG.
Three men, aged 26, 23, and 32, and a 21-year-old woman were arrested and taken to local police stations.
During a subsequent search of a home in Blaxlands Ridge, police seized a shotgun and a 9mm Glock pistol.
Taskforce detectives on Tuesday raided a number of homes on south of Sydney connected to members of the Comancheros bikies
A 26-year-old man has since been charged with twelve offences, including four counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception, and two counts of possess ammunition without holding licence or permit or authority.
His other charges include possess prohibited drug, possess or use a prohibited weapon without permit, two counts of not keep firearm safely – prohibited firearm, possess unauthorised prohibited firearm, and possess unregistered firearm – pistol.
The 32-year-old man was charged with six counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception while the woman, 21, and other man, 23, were both charged with fraud offences.
Three hours later, officers from the Tactical Operations Unit (TOU) descended on a home in Schofields at 10am.
A 31-year-old man, who is a Finks OMCG member, was arrested after allegedly shooting a man, 37, in both his legs inside a Londonderry home, in Sydney’s north-west, about 9pm on May 10.
A man kneels down on the ground with his hands behind his back after being arrested by police
Police arrest a man in Brighton Le-Sands on Monday after he allegedly drove under the influence of drugs
The injured man was taken to hospital for treatment and later released, while a 9mm pistol and several items of interest were later found in nearby bushland during a police search of the area.
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The 31-year-old man was taken to Riverstone Police Station and charged with discharge firearms intend cause grievous bodily harm, special aggravated break and enter commit serious indict offence – inflict grievous bodily harm, and acquire pistol-subject to firearms prohibition order.
In another taskforce patrol, police conducted a firearms search on a Mercedes on Bruce Street in Brighton Le-Sands about 2.30pm on Monday,
The 36-year-old man, who is a Comanchero member, allegedly drug tested positive methylamphetamine and cocaine.
He was arrested and underwent a secondary test before being banned from driving for 24-hours.
Police arrested a woman and three men during raids in Sydney at 7am on Tuesday
Police arrested a man at Wrights Beach on Tuesday as part of a search warrant operation across the NSW South Coast
He was also issued a number of Traffic Infringement Notices and his vehicle was red label defected.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said Task Force Erebus is specifically focused on members and associates of organised criminal networks, including outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs).
‘We established Taskforce Erebus earlier this week in response to the recent violence which has plagued south-west Sydney and it was made clear arrests would swiftly follow,’ Commissioner Webb said.
‘This morning, we have executed a number search warrants and as a result, seized numerous firearms and arrested seven people for a range of serious offences – all allegedly members or associates of OMCGs.
Photos taken by police show Comanchero memorabilia inside a home during raids on Tuesday
Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Paul Toole said there were no signs of police slowing down when it comes to tackling organised crime
‘I want the community to be reassured operations under Erebus have a long way to go, and we will inflict further damage on these criminal networks in the days and weeks to come.’
Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Paul Toole said there were no signs of police slowing down when it comes to tackling organised crime.
‘These arrests are just the tip of the iceberg. Police will be in their face, disrupting their lives every second of the day,’ Mr Toole said.
‘Make no mistake; these are not ordinary people living ordinary lives. They are violent criminals and deserve to be locked up.’
The two men arrested at Wrights Beach and Worrigee faced Nowra Local Court on Tuesday, where they were formally refused bail to reappear the same court on Tuesday 12 July 2022.
The 26-year-old Blaxlands Ridge man was refused bail to appear at Windsor Local Court on Wednesday, while the 32-year-old fronted Blacktown Court today.
The woman, 21, and man, 23, also arrested during the Rebel bikies raids were each granted bail to appear at Windsor Local Court next month.
The Schofields man was refused bail to appear at Blacktown Local Court on Wednesday.
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