3 senior foreign-born bikie members deported from Australia
Three senior foreign-born bikies were deported to their native countries last week after their Australian visas were cancelled. The men were members of different gangs — the Mongols, Nomads and Bandidos — in South Australia and Queensland.
The Australian Border Force removed the men last week, sending one to return to the United Kingdom and two to New Zealand. Their cancellation of visa was based on character grounds under s501 of the Migration Act 1958.
There have been more than 190 organised crime members (OMCG) whose visas have been cancelled or refused since 2014. On Sunday, a 41-year-old New Zealand national was also removed from Brisbane Airport due to his significant criminal history.
“Collectively these individuals had criminal convictions that related to drug and weapons possession as well as inciting extreme violence,” ABF Commander of Field Operations James Copeman said. “The ABF maintains a strong focus on disrupting the activities of OMCG’s outlaw motorcycle gangs, by identifying, targeting and cancelling the visas of their members.
“Any non-citizen with an extensive criminal history and involvement with a criminal organisation, such as an OMG, can expect to have their visa cancelled and to be removed from Australia.”
As the ABF said, it has been kicking out foreign-born individuals with criminal convictions, particularly from biker gangs, for years. Just last month, a member of the French chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang was denied entry into the country for “presenting a risk to the health, safety or good order of the Australian community, or a segment of the community.”
A bikie involved in the 2013 Broadbeach brawl was also deported to New Zealand last month. He had served his community service sentence in 2014, but he was still found a risk to the community.
Also in August, in a reverse situation, a man who infiltrated Bandidos bikie gang on the orders of the Australian Crime Commission has been granted refugee status in Canada. The Immigration and Refugee Board in Canada concurred that ACC failed to give Steven Utah adequate protection from bikie gangs when his cover was exposed. Utah became the first known refugee from Australia.
