New Zealand police raid Australia-affiliated biker gang

WELLINGTON:  New Zealand police raided dozens of properties Thursday in an operation they said "ripped the welcome mat out" from an Australian biker gang trying to establish itself in the country.In a series of dawn swoops across the North Island focusing on the Rebels motorcycle gang, more than 100 armed officers seized drugs, firearms, luxury cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles and cash.

Detective Inspector Chris Bensemann said police were determined to halt the Rebels, described as Australia's largest biker gang with more than 2,000 members, from expanding into New Zealand."Their presence won't be tolerated, we're not going to accept that they're just going to float over here and patch people (recruit members)," he told reporters.

Bensemann said the raids, which resulted in 30 arrests, had exposed a major methamphetamine distribution network.He said police had been conducting undercover surveillance on the Rebels, whose gang patch depicts a skull superimposed on a US Civil War-era Confederate flag, for months and would maintain their campaign against the group.

"It might be optimistic to say that this is the end of the Rebels in New Zealand but we've certainly struck a blow to their bow, that's for sure," he said.Police did not detail the charges laid against those arrested.New Zealand has its own culture of motorcycle gangs, including the Mongrel Mob, Tribesmen, Filthy Few and Greasy Dogs.Police said the Rebels were trying to forge alliances with the local gangs to assist their expansion.