Dutch Prosecutor wants to ban biker gang Bandidos

The Dutch Public Prosecutor asked the court in Utrecht to ban motorcycle gang Bandidos - both the Dutch and international chapters, prosecutor Oebele Brouwer said in the Telegraaf on Tuesday. Such a civil ban will enable the Judiciary to tackle the entire ban, instad of only individual members, according to him.

According to the Prosecutor, what the Bandidos stand for is contrary to public order. Members of the club are suspected of dealing in drugs and arms, involvement in violent offences, intimidation and extortion. And if they get into a fight with rival motorcycle gangs, they put the safety of bystanders in great danger, Brouwer said to the newspaper.

Brouwer believes that just tackling individual members of the outlaw motorcycle gang is not enough. "Nothing happens without the knowledge of the leaders", he said to the newspaper. "The club leaders orchestrates all criminal activities."

The Prosecutor expects a long and heated legal battle regarding this ban, given the fact that previous attempts to ban a chapter of the Hells Agnels stranded in the Supreme Court. "It could take years. The defense will possibly question dozens of witnesses and use defenses of all kinds", Brouwer said.

Earlier this year Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice announced that the Prosecutor will work on banning motorcycle gangs in the Nehterlands following a massive shootout between two gangs in Rotterdam.