Dutch police arrested 56 members of a national motorcycle club in the capital Amsterdam to prevent a possible clash with rival club Hells A...
Dutch police arrested 56 members of a national motorcycle club in the capital Amsterdam to prevent a possible clash with rival club Hells Angels, police said Sunday.There were indications that members of the Satudarah biker club had travelled to Amsterdam to challenge their rivals, according to a police statement.
"A possible confrontation between Satudarah and members of the Hells Angels had to be taken in account," the statement said.
The 56 were arrested "late last night (Saturday) for a public order disturbance. Those arrested all belong to the biker club Satudarah," police also said.
It was unclear where the Satudarah members came from, but a local report stated the club, established by bikers of Moluccan descent, had at least 10 chapters around the Netherlands. Police declined to reveal further information.
Police acted as tensions are believed to be escalating between the club and the Hells Angels, a local report said. The Hells Angels has some 17 chapters around the Netherlands and has so far thwarted prosecutors' attempts to have it declared a criminal organisation.
Dutch police spokesman Joost van Slobbe told national daily Algemeen Dagblad on Saturday that police believed "the balance between the biker clubs has been disturbed."
Van Slobbe added that Dutch law enforcement "at all costs" wanted to prevent a possible biker war, similar to the one between the Hells Angels and Bandidos in the 1990s in Scandinavia, which killed 11 and injured 95.
