More small and "radical" motorcycle gangs in the Netherlands, police say
Since the Netherlands banned larger outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) like Hells Angels, Satudarah, and No Surrender, the number of smaller clubs has risen steadily. The Netherlands now counts 84 small outlaw motorcycle gangs and they are often more radical than the old clubs, NOS reports based on a new police report.
Some of the new clubs were founded by members of banned motorcycle gangs. Their member numbers range from a handful to several dozen people. Many members have a criminal past.
“The members of the majority of the new clubs are more radical (criminal) than the former OMG members,” the police wrote, according to NOS. “They are involved in serious forms of crime.” Suspicions of violence, drug trafficking, and money laundering are relatively common.
The police added that the number of crimes that OMG members are suspected of has decreased slightly despite this development. And most suspicions are against members, not the motorcycle club as a whole.
Unlike in other countries, there are hardly any tensions between motorcycle gangs in the Netherlands. Criminal members of competing OMGs regularly work together.
The police noted that banned OMGs still have chapters in the Netherlands. Investigators suspect that the Hells Angels still had 18 chapters underground here last year. Satudarah had 14 and No Surrender 16, the police believe. These clubs are also expanding abroad, opening new chapters in Spain and South America. The clubs abroad may have become more attractive because of their ban in the Netherlands, the police wrote.
The police and Public Prosecution Service warned that attention to crime at outlaw motorcycle gangs must not slacken. The police think that a bill giving the Minister for Legal Protection the authority to ban “undermining organizations,” which will be discussed in the Senate later this month, will help in the fight against criminal motorcycle clubs. They also believe that mayors should continue to close clubhouses as much as possible.
