BANDIDOS motorcycle club enforcer Toby Mitchell has survived a second attempt on his life after he was ambushed on Friday night and his car riddled with bullets at a Melton industrial estate.
Victoria Police has refused to confirm the identity of Mitchell and another victim, amid fears the shootings could escalate into a full-blown war between outlaw motorcycle gangs, which have amassed considerable power in Victoria over the past five years.
Mitchell, 38, and another Bandidos member are believed to have been confronted by more than 20 members of at least two gangs at a workshop on Norton Drive just before 10pm.
Mitchell underwent surgery on a bullet wound to his arm at the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Saturday, while a 28-year-old man was also treated for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. A hospital spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on the condition of either man.
Victoria Police confirmed the armed crime taskforce was investigating a ”firearm incident”, with several cars damaged by the hail of bullets.
According to sources, police seized drugs and cash at the crime scene, which is also the location of the clubhouse of rival gang Satan’s Soldiers. Another bikie gang, the Immortals, is also believed to based at the same industrial park.
A police spokeswoman said links between the attack and outlaw motorcycle gangs were being examined, but she would not say why the shootings were not being handled by the Echo taskforce formed in 2011 to target bikie gangs and organised crime.
The possible involvement of rival gangs has fuelled concerns of revenge attacks, similar to the violence that has plagued Sydney over the past 18 months, which has included two murders and at least eight shootings.
In a bid to combat outlaw gangs, the Baillieu government introduced legislation to Parliament last November aimed at giving police the power to apply to the Supreme Court to ban criminal bikie gangs.
The ambush on Friday night is the second attempt on Mitchell’s life in less than 18 months. In November 2011, the Bandidos sergeant-at-arms was shot up to six times in the back as he fled a gunman outside Brunswick’s Doherty’s Gym. Children and shoppers were caught in the mayhem that unfolded in a shopping centre car park.
Mitchell had a kidney removed at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, while his partner, Danielle McGuire, Tony Mokbel’s former girlfriend, maintained a bedside vigil.
The former champion kickboxer refused to assist police with the investigation. The gunman and his accomplice have not been captured, although police believe the men accepted a contract to murder the Bandidos enforcer. At the time, Mitchell was a suspect over the assault of a man associated with Roberta Williams, the former wife of Carl Williams, who was bashed to death in Barwon Prison in April 2010.
In November last year, 10 officers from the Echo taskforce raided Mitchell’s Docklands apartment and allegedly caught him with a stun gun and $45,250 in cash. He was charged with two counts of receiving the proceeds of crime and possession of a prohibited weapon. Mitchell is also awaiting trial on assault charges arising from a brawl at King Street strip club Centrefold Lounge in 2010.
– with CHRIS HINGSTON
