Rebels bikie gang were the target of 49 raids

Rebels bikie gang were the target of 49 raids across Australia on Thursday, with 27 people arrested on drug and weapons charges.
Police swooped on homes in Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT is a series of coordinated dawn raids.
Nearly 250 officers were involved in rounding up the Rebels members and their "associates". Some of those arrested will face court on Friday. Police seized drugs, including methlyamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, banned weapons, cash, child pornography and stolen vehicles. They also found a large amount of gold "suspected of having been stolen". "The success of this operation is attributable to the high level of cooperation between jurisdictions and information received from members of the public," Detective Superintendent Des Bray of the Crime Gangs Task Force in South Australia said. Thirteen people were charged with 32 offences in Western Australia. Queensland police charged three men and a woman following raids in Mount Isa, Townsville, Rockhampton, Moura and Gladstone. In Canberra, three men were charged, two aged 24 and another aged 33. South Australian police on Thursday night said they wouldn't confirm they'd arrested seven people. The arrests in the ACT come a week after a man accused of shooting dead a senior Rebels member pleaded not guilty to his murder. Russell Field, 20, is facing two counts of murder following the double shooting of senior Rebels member Richard Roberts and his associate Gregory Carrigan in March. The bodies were found at a residence in Canberra's south, one in front of the home and the other in the backyard. Earlier this week, NSW police said more than 50 outlaw motorcycle gang members had been arrested since they formed Strike Force Raptor following a deadly brawl at Sydney Airport between the Hells Angels and Comanchero gangs. Raptor targets the illegal activities of gangs and aims to prevent violence by bikie members. "This is on the ground, in your face policing," NSW Police Minister Tony Kelly said on Tuesday.