A contingent of 30 Raptor Squad police investigators, highway patrol and operations support officers will be stationed permanently in the Hunter Valley as the state seeks to give more resources to police to target organised crime and bikie gangs moving into the regions.
The Premier, Dominic Perrottet, launched new permanent bases in the Hunter and Illawarra regions Sunday in a move he said would improve safety across the state, as police say gangs feeling the pressure of police in Sydney move into the regions to try to conduct their illicit affairs.
"There is no place for bikie gangs in this state and today there is no place to hide," Mr Perrottet said.
"We see many bikie gangs going to the regions, to the north and to the south. Well today, they will not be able to fly under the radar."
The Raptor Squad was launched in 2009, then as a strike force, to target organised crime in the state and became a standalone operation in 2021.
The move to bolster police resources in the region had tentative bipartisan support at the weekend, as state opposition leader Chris Minns backed the announcement but said Labor wanted more detail on how the additional staff would be recruited.
"We know that NSW Police haven't been able to meet their recruitment targets," Mr Minns said.
It came as police boasted at the weekend some bikie gang members were even going so far as to call in raids on their own homes as a way of surrendering patches to police under intense investigative pressure.
Raptor officers have arrested more than 7500 people over the past 14 years, while close to 20,000 charges have been laid.
In 2019, the Raptor Squad conducted a series of raids across the Hunter, netting alleged members of a large-scale criminal drug supply syndicate.
The accused include a member of the Newcastle chapter of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang and a nominee to that club.
To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.
