Raptor North officers have seized multiple firearms and charged six people with various firearm, drug and assault offences, following an investigation into an alleged assault at a Lake Macquarie pub last month.
About 4.30pm on Saturday 18 February 2023, a 36-year-old man had been asked to leave the premises by a staff member.
Police will allege the man became argumentative and grabbed the female employee's arm before throwing a glass at the wall.
A brawl then started inside the hotel for a short time before the man and three others left.
About two hours later, the four men returned and allegedly assaulted a number of patrons in the carpark of the premises, including a 33-year-old man – unknown to them – who was knocked unconscious.
He was taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment.
The four men left the hotel in a vehicle prior to police arrival.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District attended and conducted initial inquiries, before the matter was referred to the State Crime Command's Raptor North Squad for further investigation.
Following extensive inquiries, Raptor Squad officers executed four search warrants at properties in Cardiff, Edgeworth, Gillieston Heights, and Newcastle West from 5am yesterday (Tuesday 14 March 2023).
During the warrants, police located five firearms, cannabis, and MDMA. All items will undergo further forensic examination.
Four men – aged between 26 and 36 – and two women – aged 32 and 36 – were arrested and taken to local police stations.
A 36-year-old man from Edgeworth was charged with 14 offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others, affray, participate criminal group contribute criminal activity, possess unauthorised firearm, possess unregistered firearm, possess ammunition without holding licence/permit, possess prohibited drug, possess/use prohibited weapon without permission, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (DV).
A 29-year-old Cardiff man was charged with 14 offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others, affray, participate criminal group contribute criminal activity, possess unauthorised firearm, possess unregistered firearm, possess ammunition without holding licence/permit, possess prohibited drug, and fail to notify change of residential address as prescribed.
A 36-year-old woman was arrested at Edgeworth and charged with possess unauthorised and unregistered firearm, and owner not disclose identity of driver/passenger.
A 32-year-old woman from Cardiff was charged with seven offences, including possess ammunition without holding licence/permit, possess unregistered firearm, and possess unauthorised pistol.
All four were refused bail to appear at Toronto Local Court today (Wednesday 15 March 2023).
A second 29-year-old man from Newcastle West was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others, affray, participate criminal group contribute criminal activity, and fail to notify change of residential address as prescribed. He was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court yesterday (Tuesday 14 March 2023), where he was granted conditional bail to appear at the same court on Tuesday 28 March 2023.
A 26-year-old Gillieston Heights man was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others, affray, participate criminal group contribute criminal activity, and possess/attempt to prescribed restricted substance. He was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court yesterday (Tuesday 14 March 2023), where he was granted conditional bail to appear at Maitland Local Court on Wednesday 26 April 2023.
Police will allege all four men are senior members or associates of local chapters of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG).
Raptor North co-ordinator, Detective Inspector Peter Walke, said police will not tolerate these unprovoked acts of violence.
"These alleged brawls and assaults occurred in a public bar with innocent bystanders caught up in the middle, this is completely unacceptable behaviour," he said.
"As a result of these warrants, police also seized five firearms and drugs – uncovered as a result of police being called to investigate a brawl.
"Raptor North officers are continuing to take a strong approach to targeting OMCG activity in the Hunter. When you are a member of such a club, you need to expect that you will be under added scrutiny from police. This sort of violence is not on," Det Insp Walke said.
Anyone with information about outlaw motorcycle gang activity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
