Outlaw bikie gangs warring for dominance in the illegal drug market could be a motive for the bombing of a Sydney Hells Angels base

Outlaw bikie gangs warring for dominance in the illegal drug market could be a motive for the bombing of a Sydney Hells Angels base, police say.Officers said it was lucky no one was killed by the powerful explosion about 4am (NZ time) yesterday, which left sheets of roofing iron, rubble and shattered glass scattered across Crystal Street at Petersham.As investigators look into the bombing, police fear revenge attacks may follow."Tit-for-tat revenge attacks are not unknown obviously within outlaw motorcycle gangs," Gang Squad Detective Superintendent Mal Lanyon told reporters.Furthermore, he said investigating incidents which involved the gangs often proved difficult."One of the problems with investigating any outlaw motorcycle gang incident is the code of silence that operates within the actual gang structure itself," he said."People ... within gangs are reticent to come forward and provide information to the police and that's why we have to be dedicated and professional in the way we investigate so we can make arrests."Supt Lanyon said detectives were keeping an open mind about the motive for the bombing, but said involvement in the illicit drugs trade was a big part of bikie gang culture."There is obviously a large number of factors that may influence people or may influence other gangs to come in conflict, obviously drug supply and the proceeds from drug supply is something that fuels outlaw motorcycle gangs ... and that would certainly be a motive," he said.
Witnesses have told police they saw two men in a dark four-wheel drive leaving the scene of the bombing on Wednesday, Superintendent David Eardley said.Investigators are also looking at any links between the blast and shots fired into a nearby tattoo parlour."The cause of the explosion is still being determined, but we are satisfied it is as a result of a deliberate act," Supt Eardley told reporters.He was unclear about what role the Petersham building played in the Hells Angels operation and did not say what police had found inside the property."Whether it is the headquarters I'm not quite sure, but it is certainly a premises that's linked to the Hells Angels motorcycle group," Supt Eardley said."I believe it is a premises that has come under notice previously."Nearby resident Kenneth Goodman told News Ltd the explosion damaged windows in his building."I heard the four explosions which we figured were gunshots, then approximately two minutes after, we heard the loud explosion," he said."I came out, walked up the street and then saw all the glass, rubble and carnage, pieces of tin, all across the road."There was heaps of smoke. It smelt like a gun powder, plastic-like smell."Supt Eardley said he was concerned about the potential harm the explosion could have caused."It was probably by sheer luck that no person was killed in the incident ... that no innocent bystanders were killed," he said.

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