Funen Police has decided to temporarily shut down the clubhouses of the Hells Angels and Black Army in Odense after conflicts between the two biker gangs grew more violent in the city.
Access to the clubhouses, which are situated on Nyborgvej 140 and Petermindesvej 20 respectively, is prohibited from today until October 18, and police patrols will now guard the entrances.
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Threat to ordinary citizens
This morning, Funen Police raided both locations and found two guns, a knife, pepper spray and several clubs and batons.
Five Hells Angels members and two Black Army members were arrested during the search, but are expected to be released.
“We have recently experienced several shooting incidents in Odense, which pose a potential risk to the citizens of the city,” stated Benny Linde Larsen, a police inspector from Funen Police.
“The clubhouses are located in parts of the city where ordinary citizens go about their daily errands, which puts them at risk of being caught in an attack, and that is something we simply cannot accept.”
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Fewer gang members about
Meanwhile, the national police, Rigspolitiet, reports that a growing number of biker gang members and other gang members are choosing to turn their lives around and takes part in the so-called exit program that aims to help them leave their gang life behind.
At the beginning of 2016, some 171 people either started or had completed the program, compared to only 15 in 2013.
According to Rigspolitiet, there are now about 96 different criminal gangs in Denmark, which is 21 fewer than in 2013. The number of registered gang members fell by 400 between 2013 and 2015.
