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Post by Chips on Oct 12, 2009 2:05:11 GMT 9.5
Gang of 49 ringleader nabbed
FRANCES STEWART, NIGEL HUNT, KATE KYRIACOU, RENATO CASTELLO
October 11, 2009 11:18am
ONE of the ringleaders of the so-called Gang of 49 was out of jail for less than a week before he led a wild crime spree including 10 violent robberies, it is alleged.
Police say they are closing in on about 20 "principal offenders" involved in the "cyclical" crime spree, following the arrest of at least five people associated with the gang since Friday.
The alleged mastermind of the crime spree - a man, 21 - was arrested yesterday in the Murraylands after being detained by police on a separate traffic offence.
Police have charged the man, who was released from jail on September 15, for a series of violent robberies starting just six days after he was released from jail.
Police expect to lay "a significant number" of further charges against the man, including trespass, illegal use of motor vehicles and arson.
Officer in charge of the Organised Crime Branch, Detective Superintendent Tony Rankine, said police were closing in on the other gang members responsible for "the worst and most dangerous" crime spree he had seen in 42 years of police work.
"We're actively seeking other primary offenders," he said.
"We believe that at least two offenders, if not more, have fled the state."
Det. Supt. Rankine said police had received "tremendous assistance" from "responsible and well-regarded members of the Aboriginal community", but stressed the crimes were not connected to race.
"This is not about ethnicity, this is about criminality," he said.
Det. Supt. Rankine said at least two caucasian males had been arrested, with the remainder of offenders thought to be Operation Mandrake targets and known Aboriginal offenders.
On Friday another suspected gang member was arrested while in custody at the Magill Training Centre.
The Morphett Vale youth, 17, was charged in relation to the North Adelaide post office robbery on September 21 where a staff member was threatened with an axe.
The youth had been in custody on a separate matter since September 23.
Armed police last night searched a number of houses for accomplices, some of whom are believed to have fled interstate.
"Detectives are actively seeking other suspects in relation to these matters and are confident that they know their identities,'' a police spokesman said today.
"Some are believed to have travelled interstate and enquiries are being made with other law enforcement agencies around Australia in an attempt to locate them."
The gang, named after a long list of known young criminals, has been blamed for a spate of robberies at the Sussex Hotel, Cash Converters Kilkenny, Ashford TAB, Adelaide Exchange Jewellers, Jackpots on Pulteney St, the Eagles Bar and Bistro and the British Hotel.
Police have also recovered a red Commodore they believe was stolen from a Clarence Gardens house by suspects wanted in connection with the armed robbery of the Cafe de Vili's bakehouse at Mile End on Friday.
Police discovered a gun in the boot of the car and arrested two men who had attempted to flee the vehicle after it crashed during a police chase.
A 22-year-old Murray Bridge man and a 20-year-old Largs Bay man were charged for illegal use of a motor vehicle and released on bail, but up to four other occupants of the car are still at large. They will appear in the Murray Bridge Magistrates Court next month.
Various other items were found in the car which are believed to have been used in other robberies.
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Post by Chips on Oct 13, 2009 0:03:53 GMT 9.5
Spirit of gang of 49 on show outside court SEAN FEWSTER, JORDANNA SCHRIEVER, KEN McGREGOR October 13, 2009 12:01am  RELAXED and with their dog in tow, Gang of 49 supporters smoked cigarettes, swigged soft drink and swore loudly outside the Murray Bridge Magistrate's Court yesterday. They showed the same disdain their hero – so-called ringleader Nathan Leslie Sweeney – allegedly did in robbing Cafe De Vili's last Friday while undisguised and in full view of 23 security cameras. "F . . . k you and f . . . k your f . . . king Gang of 49," one woman yelled, flashing obscene gestures at the media. Sweeney was one of three men in court yesterday in connection with an alleged crime spree. Police admitted they feared three more suspects, still at large, would continue to offend despite the arrests. Sweeney, 21, of Murray Bridge, has yet to plead to 33 charges including committing theft using force, car theft, arson and home invasion. Police will allege all offences occurred between September 20 and October 9. It is alleged Sweeney was arrested after he tried to steal a vehicle from the car park of the Centro shopping centre at Murray Bridge. Prosecutors will allege Sweeney was part of the gang's robberies of the North Adelaide Post Office, Cash Converters at Kilkenny, the TAB at Ashford, Adelaide Exchange Jewellers and Eagles Bar and Bistro. They will further accuse him of robbing the British Hotel, the Sturt St Post Office and the Subway and Bake House restaurants at Black Forest. Finally, Sweeney is alleged to be one of three men who stormed Cafe De Villi's at Mile End last Friday, terrorising 30 staff and customers with a gun. One man, believed to be a chef, was allegedly struck across his face with the weapon when he ignored the gang's orders not to look at their faces. Throughout his court appearance, Sweeney was flanked by two armed police officers. He stood silently, barely glancing at the supporters who had waited three hours to see him. He did not make any application for bail and was remanded in custody until December 21. Sweeney mouthed a short message to a woman in the court room before he was led away to the cells. It was that woman who, moments later, abused the media outside court. Also yesterday, a 17-year-old appeared in the Youth Court accused of being Sweeney's accomplice in the North Adelaide Post Office robbery. He was remanded in custody until later this month. Another man appeared in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on separate offences allegedly connected with the Gang of 49. Thomas Robert Black, 41, of Woodville Gardens, did not apply for bail, but asked a home detention report be ordered for a bail application later this month. Police will allege he was in the company of two other men when the trio, brandishing a gun and a knife, threatened staff at the Challa Gardens Hotel, West Croydon, at about 2am on September 3. |
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Post by Chips on Oct 13, 2009 0:06:46 GMT 9.5
Put them behind bars for as long as we can
GREG KELTON
October 13, 2009 12:01am
GANG rampages terrorising innocent people across Adelaide are "pure evil" and impeding on the public's freedom and right to feel safe, Attorney-General Michael Atkinson says.
An angry Mr Atkinson yesterday said those who were found to be responsible had to be put behind bars and "away from society".
Recent attacks were a "criminal rampage, which has to be brought to a halt".
"What the public of SA wants is to feel safe when these people are behind bars and kept away from society," he said.
"That is the only thing which will incapacitate them."
Mr Atkinson said that just as the Gang of 49 was "limbering up", the Government wanted the Liberals to join it in keeping gang members behind bars by supporting new parole laws for young offenders.
"This rampage would not be occurring if the Gang of 49 was behind bars," he said.
"We need to keep them away from society as long as we can.
"We are dealing with an evil phenomenon, criminal gang gunmen who go around hitting soft targets and terrorising workers, engaging in home invasion and putting their crimes on Facebook and who are proud of it.
"These people need to be behind bars – not entertained with rehabilitation programs."
Social Inclusion Commissioner Monsignor David Cappo said the gangs were spiralling out of total control.
"We really need to go back to the courts and say, do you realise this group is out of control and putting them into the community and giving them another chance at this stage is simply not the way to go," Monsignor Cappo said.
"This core group definitely needs to be in custody, in jail, for the protection of the community."
Monsignor Cappo said he would be meeting "very, very quickly" with Aboriginal leaders over the issue as well as talking to the police to get a proper briefing on exactly what the police were doing with this group.
Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond said the Government had failed to respond to recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry, or Monsignor Cappo, aimed at solving the juvenile crime problems.
"We need to recognise the need for early intervention and we need to make sure the community is safe from those who are the dangerous offenders in our community," she said.
"The people we are dealing with are, by Monsignor Cappo's statements, 17 years of age so you can already treat them as adults."
Respected Aboriginal elder Frank Lampard, OAM, said last week it was time "for our mob across the state to rally up, take a strong stance and say to these young people: you are liars, cheats and thieves."
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Post by hal9000 on Oct 13, 2009 0:47:56 GMT 9.5
Sounds like people are starting to get it. Hopefully they will not have some slick lawyer screw this up.
To avoid this possibility, I would like these savages have a date with a needle ASAP.
But I know it isn't that simple.
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Post by Epi on Oct 13, 2009 5:46:00 GMT 9.5
Might surprise you to know Hal, we don't have the death penalty in Australia. Oh, and what a charming young woman - hope she feels proud when she sees herself on TV. And she will probably breed one day.  |
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Post by hal9000 on Oct 14, 2009 23:59:19 GMT 9.5
Might surprise you to know Hal, we don't have the death penalty in Australia. Oh, and what a charming young woman - hope she feels proud when she sees herself on TV. And she will probably breed one day. Actually I knew that Epi. I believe that the death penalty is not used anywhere in Europe either. Can you imagine what foul spawn will emerge from that thing? I shudder to think! |
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Post by Chips on Oct 15, 2009 3:06:49 GMT 9.5
Man, teen girls in gang arrests
October 14, 2009 08:35am
ANOTHER Gang of 49 member has been arrested and charged over the recent spate of armed robberies across Adelaide.
The arrest came after STAR Group officers helped stop a car on the Lonsdale Highway at Hallett Cove yesterday.
The Brompton man, 22, a passenger in the car, was arrested and charged with aggravated robberies at the Sturt St post office, the Subway at Black Forest, the Black Forest Bakehouse and Cafe de Vilis.
He was also charged in relation to an aggravated serious criminal trespass in which a car was stolen at Clarence Gardens, and other car thefts.
The man was refused bail and will appear in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court today.
Also yesterday, police arrested and charged two teenage girls and two male adults at Strathalbyn believed to be associated with the Gang of 49.
The four were charged over a series of offences including aggravated robbery, aggravated serious criminal trespass and illegal use of a motor vehicle, all alleged to have occurred between Sunday and yesterday.
An Alberton girl, 13, an Adelaide man, 19, and a Scott Creek man, 20, were all refused police bail and will appear in the Mt Barker Magistrates Court tomorrow.
A St Agnes girl, 15, was bailed to appear in the same court next month.
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Post by Chips on Oct 16, 2009 2:25:24 GMT 9.5
Gang search crosses state bordersSAM RODRIGUES, AMY NOONAN October 16, 2009 12:01am  CAPTURED: Heavily armed police officers arrest Lyall Parry Williams on Lonsdale Highway, opposite the Hallett Cove shopping centre. Picture: WAYNE BREESE THE hunt for the Gang of 49 crossed state borders yesterday, as heavily armed Victorian police arrested two alleged key members. The Armed Crime taskforce and elite Special Operations Group raided a home in Kilmore, 16km north of Melbourne, as a dramatic image, above, emerged of the arrest in Adelaide this week of another key gang suspect. Detective Inspector Lyn Dunstan, from SA's Organised Crime Investigation Branch, said the net was closing on the group. "I'm confident the arrests of these two males and the arrest on Tuesday at Hallett Cove will have a significant impact on the members of this group," he said. "Since October 1, 11 persons have been arrested now by Operation Dimension in relation to this crime series. To date, a total of 17 charges of aggravated robbery has been laid against those people." Police said the crime spree started at the Challa Gardens Hotel on September 3 and includes the most recent armed hold-up of a Black Forest bakery on October 9. Arrested in Kilmore, following a tip-off from SA police, were a Nailsworth man, 20, and a man, 19, of no fixed address. The first faces four charges of aggravated robbery, police alleging he was involved in robbing the Sturt St Post Office in the city, the Subway and Bakehouse Bakery in Black Forest and theft of a car in Clarence Gardens. The teenager will face two charges of aggravated robbery over the Ashford TAB and the British Hotel. The pair will appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court today where SA detectives will seek their extradition. On Tuesday, Lyall Parry Williams' arrest by STAR Group officers was caught on camera by The Advertiser reader Wayne Breese, who was driving at Hallett Cove when the event unfolded. "It was all done pretty fast and obviously strategically done," Mr Breese said. "They closed the north-bound lane of the Lonsdale Hwy near Hallett Cove as a hatchback headed towards the city." South-bound traffic crawled along as the drama unfolded in what other witnesses said was "just like the movies". Police intelligence pointed to Williams, 22, of Christie Downs, being on the move from the south towards the city. Williams, the driver and two passengers were pulled from the car by armed officers. Forced face-down, with guns pointed at them, they were cuffed and detained. Williams has been remanded in custody to appear in court in December facing charges with alleged gang ringleader, Nathan Sweeney, over four robberies.
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Post by thelion on Oct 16, 2009 3:16:39 GMT 9.5
If they were here in the NT they would be losing all their assetts about now.
We have effectively got rid of most of the Hells angels etc that way here.
Run drugs lose the car lose the house.
It works well.
Any assetts used in the commission of a crime are siezed, then you have to Prove the rest of the assetts were not obtained from Drugs or other criminal endevour.
We had a Hells Angel that had never worked in his life with three Million dollars in assetts they were siezed he couldnt prove that they were not the proceeds of crime hence they were seized and sold. We have had several houses in the Northern Territory in the last year siezed sold and the money taken by the Government as fines.
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