Swedens Hells Angels, Bandidos, Wolfpack Brotherhood and Original Gangsters attack the justice system

Prosecutor Barbro Joensson was driving to work when a bomb exploded at the front door of her house, rocking her whole neighbourhood and sending shockwaves through traditionally serene Sweden."It is very hard to describe how I felt when I heard what happened. I think I still haven't grasped how serious it was," Joensson, 53, told AFP more than a year after the attack.She was prosecuting a high-profile case against a violent criminal gang called the Wolfpack Brotherhood and had just left her home in the southwestern town of Trollhaettan on November 20, 2007, when the blast ripped off the front door and shattered the hallway.Two young gang members were remanded in custody just over a month ago on suspicion they planted the bomb, which could have killed Joensson had she been at home.The bombing -- one of the first overt attacks on a Swedish prosecutor -- prompted calls to root out the swelling criminal gangs that have smashed the Scandinavian country's tranquil image.
The gangs have caused a spike in a number of crimes, including extortion and loan-sharking -- a gang specialty -- which have jumped from 740 cases reported in 2003 to 1,715 last year, according to preliminary statistics from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.Police say it is difficult to estimate the number and size of criminal gangs in Sweden since membership can vary from day to day, but media reports indicate around 1,000 people are actively involved in at least six large criminal gangs with numerous branches across the country.Gangs make headlines almost daily with stories of drug busts, brutal attacks on business owners unable to pay off debts and bloody gang wars.
"This is a serious problem that has grown in recent years," Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask told AFP."We used to be fairly sheltered in the Nordic countries, but unfortunately this problem has surfaced and we must react very forcefully now or else this could be extremely serious in say 10 years," she cautioned.
Police also think that attacks like the one on Joensson constitute a novel and dangerous twist in Swedish gang activity."Attacks on the judiciary are a rather new and very serious phenomenon," said Klas Friberg, the police chief in the Vaestra Goetaland region that comprises Trollhaettan and Gothenburg.Joensson, who moved after the attack on her home and joined a police unit in Gothenburg working to fight gang crime, agreed."We risk having judges who don't dare to judge, prosecutors who are afraid to prosecute and police who refrain from making arrests," she said, adding that "if that happens the first bastion against these groups will fall."

Just four months after the Trollhaettan bombing, shots were fired at the home of another prosecutor in the region, Mats Mattsson, who had worked extensively on cases involving criminal motorcycle gangs like Bandidos.

While no one was hurt in that attack either, it prompted more calls for action and sent the government and police scurrying to come up with new measures to combat the scourge.Special police and intelligence units were created along with a "Knowledge Centre" on gang activity as part of a national strategy aimed at cracking down on gangs and blocking recruitment of new members."Local police have to be on their case all the time, making it uncomfortable for anyone who has not yet been fully recruited to hang around these people," said Justice's Ask.
Despite heightened police efforts, around 10 new clubhouses belonging to gangs like Hells Angels, Bandidos, Wolfpack Brotherhood and Original Gangsters reportedly sprouted up across Sweden last year alone. The highest concentration of gang units is centred around the southern towns of Malmoe and Gothenburg, largely due to their proximity to Denmark, where the gangs also constitute a major problem. "A few years ago, Denmark carried out very forceful measures against these gangs and a number of these people moved over to Sweden. Now, we hope they will move back, or rather further," Ask said. Erik Lannerbaeck, a former member of several gangs including the Wolfpack Brotherhood and Bandidos, meanwhile told AFP that simply cracking down on the gangs would accomplish little. "The main focus should be on getting members to leave the gangs, and to do that you can't just lock people up and hope they'll be better when they get out," said Lannerbaeck, who after a decade in criminal gangs began working as a counselor for troubled youths in Stockholm in 2004.
Gang members trying to get out often need protection and help paying off debts and finding a job, but most of all "they need support from people who understand them and can help them see the value in being normal, and to create a new identity," he insisted. Lannerbaeck said he himself repeatedly tried to leave his life of crime only to be drawn back in by the promise of wads of cash or the desire to once again be feared and respected instead of stepped upon in a menial job.
"It was like a drug," he said, adding that landing a good job where he was appreciated was what made it possible to get out for good. "It is very important that people can leave," Ask agreed, adding that a project to help people get out of the gangs would likely be funded soon. "Huge efforts are needed and we need a lot of people to push in the same direction, but I think we can bring this problem under control," she said.

VIP escort for Bandidos bikie gang

More than 200 members of the Bandidos bikie gang will descend on Melbourne this afternoon.Police have been told to "facilitate" the bikies as they ride in convoy from Geelong to the CBD.
The Bandidos will be given a police escort and traffic will be stopped so they can enjoy an uninterrupted run. Once in town, they are expected to hit pubs and strip clubs during their annual national run. "It really is a party," said one Bandidos member. Bikies from interstate and overseas are expected to join the run up the Princes Highway. The order from police command has outraged police already livid over what they say is a soft approach to bikie gangs. Officers will be drawn from regions already struggling to contain crime to monitor the gang from tonight until Monday. Police will devote 395 individual shifts to the operation, including traffic management units, general duties officers and brawler vans. "This operation will be sucking up a lot of manpower at peak trouble times," one officer said.
Senior Sergeant Greg Davies of the Police Association said city police were already struggling to cope with drunken violence. "Clearly, we do not have the current frontline capacity to prevent Melburnians being injured on an average weekend in the CBD," Sen-Sgt Davies said. "We just hope our members will be deployed in sufficient numbers to protect themselves and the community at large. "We've got to be confident the force has used all of its intelligence gathering and has planned for this. If there have been any slip-ups along the way then this has the potential to make Attila the Hun's foray into Europe look like an end-of-season footy trip." A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said force command had contingencies in place for the run. "Victoria Police has a number of strategies in place to minimise traffic disruption and will continue to seek to provide a safe and orderly environment for the Victorian community," she said

Hells Angels, Rebels, Bandidos, Black Uhlans, Outcasts and Finks groups raided

Police have today arrested 12 outlaw motorcycle gang members on a range of drugs and weapons charges in the second phase of Operation Golf Cyclone.Two women and 10 men were nabbed on a total of 20 charges after police found drugs including cannabis and methylamphetamines, as well as weapons including two batons and a pellet paint gun.
The arrests in the Redcliffe, Caboolture, Sunshine Coast, Maryborough, Gympie and Bundaberg districts bring to 24 the total number of gang members charged during the Operation.A police statement said officers from Task Force Hydra targeted places known to the Hells Angels, Rebels, Bandidos, Black Uhlans, Outcasts and Finks groups.
North Coast regional crime coordinator Superintendent John Maloney said officers would continue to crackdown on organised crime within the region."Through the ongoing commitment of local police to keep their communities safe, operations such as these will continue to be conducted, ensuring those who are involved in criminal activities will be located and prosecuted," Mr Maloney said.The 12 alleged offenders will all face local courts next month

Francesco "Cisco" Lenti Bandidos member fired five shots at the four Hells Angels surrounding him

Armed with a handgun and the knowledge he was a marked man, Bandidos member Francesco "Cisco" Lenti fired five shots at the four Hells Angels surrounding him before stepping over a felled man and firing a fatal bullet.
Lenti took responsibility yesterday for the chilling snapshot of violence that erupted at a Vaughan strip club in 2006.
The 60-year-old pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the shooting of Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms David (White Dread) Buchanan and the aggravated assault of then Hells Angels prospect Carlos Verrelli (now a full member) and full-patch member Dana Carnegie. Lenti will be sentenced May 12. Court heard a detailed account of the fatal shooting and the biker politics that fuelled it as Assistant Crown Attorney David Moull read an agreed statement of facts into the record. Lenti was working his job at Club Pro in Vaughan the night of the shooting. Working at the strip club for 20 years, his role was to keep drugs out of the business and to act as a peacekeeper. When Lenti came downstairs Dec. 2, 2006, at 12:53 a.m., he saw four Hells Angels members sitting in the club who quickly surrounded him and began arguing, the statement said. The Hells Angels objected to Lenti's Bandidos loyalties and the fact he was trying to establish the gang in Ontario. "Lenti said he felt threatened and that something was about to happen," the statement said. "He said he saw the butt of a gun in Mr. Verrelli's jacket." He moved to the front lobby of the club where two security cameras captured the escalating argument. Buchanan advanced on Lenti, punching him in the face and giving him a black eye. Lenti shoved Buchanan back, pulled out a 9-mm handgun from his waistband and shot Buchanan, Carnegie and Verrelli. A fourth biker took cover in a utility closet when he saw the gun. Carnegie fled the club as Buchanan and Verrelli collapsed on the lobby floor.
Lenti turned his attention to Buchanan who was still alive but bleeding and trying to pull himself off the floor. "At that point Mr. Lenti shot Mr. Buchanan through his left cheek, killing him," the statement said. As Lenti made his way to the door, he fired one final shot at Verrelli. Seven shots were fired within six seconds. "At no time during the incident were any of the Hells Angels seen to be in possession of or to produce a firearm," the statement said. Lenti turned himself in the same day but his gun was never recovered. He was originally charged with second-degree murder. The statement of facts also detailed how a member of the Oshawa chapter of the Hell Angels serving as a civilian police agent came across a plot to kill Lenti for refusing to be recruited from the Bandidos in June 2006. Two Hells Angels were assigned the job of killing Lenti to stop him from expanding the Bandidos. The third biker recruited for the murder was a paid police informant. "It was proposed the agent kill Lenti and leave him in the middle of the highway in his colours," said the statement. "Lenti couldn't just disappear; he had to be found to prove a point."
When police warned Lenti about the murder plot, he began carrying the gun and assured the officer delivering the message that he was keeping a low profile and watching his back. "He felt he was a target because he was trying to get the Bandidos Motorcycle Club 'off the ground,' " the statement said. The court heard Lenti had faced danger before. In August 1995, the 35-year veteran of outlaw motorcycle gangs was aligned with Satan's Choice and starting a new club called the Diablos when he was the victim of a car bombing in his driveway. The bomb put him in hospital for several months with life-threatening injuries.