NSW Police allege one of the country's top-ranking bikies fled interstate to evade a strict court order used to crack down on alleged underworld figures.
Allan Meehan, who a court has heard is the national president of the Comanchero bikie gang, is due to be extradited to Sydney today after being arrested on the Gold Coast.
He is expected to be charged with breaching a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO), a tactic police have employed to restrict the activities and movements of their targets.
Mr Meehan is under one of the strictest SCPOs issued in NSW, banning him from associating with 34 alleged crime figures and requiring him to report any changes of his home address to police.
The order was made by consent in the NSW Supreme Court in November.
Detective Superintendent Grant Taylor said it will be alleged Mr Meehan fled NSW "almost immediately after that order was made".
"We will allege he breached that order on four separate occasions in relation to where he resides, or his location, and using encrypted communication applications."
Mr Meehan, 35, was driven from the Southport Watch House this morning to board a flight bound for Sydney.
He was arrested at a Benowa Waters home in Queensland yesterday, after a warrant was issued by police south of the border.
Southport Magistrates Court yesterday heard he and his family had moved to Queensland after Mr Meehan was informed of rumours about a $3 million bounty on his head.
Mr Meehan's barrister, Angus Edwards, told the court his client had moved "for his own safety".
He said Mr Meehan "made a mistake" by not notifying police of his new address as he believed the control order only applied to him while in NSW.
"He thought he wasn't committing an offence," Mr Edwards said.
"My client was specifically spoken to by New South Wales Police and told there was a $3 million hit on his head."
Detective Superintendent Taylor today refuted that officers had spoken to Mr Meehan about a $3 million bounty, but said police did interact with bikies "when we determine we should tell them about a particular risk".
He said, however, being in an outlaw motorcycle group was "a risk in its own right" — something that members well know.
"To be the national president of one of the biggest outlaw motorcycle groups in this country, you're throwing yourself out there in regards to any sort of potential issue," the senior detective said.
"However, we will stand firm that the reason that individual left Sydney was in relation to ... plans to try to evade that [SCPO]."
The Criminal Groups Squad commander said police were considering applying for SCPOs against all national presidents of outlaw motorcycle gangs in NSW.
"And there are several of them," he said.
