Australian police have raided a Brisbane coffee shop with ties to a biker gang, seizing a bitcoin ATM in the process. Police suspected the gang, which goes by the name of the Bandidos, was involved in high-level drug trafficking – allegedly trafficking meth and cocaine, as well as dealing in controlled substances used in the production of certain drugs.

The raid, which was the culmination of a two-year drug investigation, was one of a series of 19 raids across Brisbane, Logan, Cairns, Ipswich and the Gold Coast. The police operation, codenamed ‘Juliet Wave’, also resulted in the seizure of $2.6m-worth of drugs. A total of 61 people being charged in connection with the case so far.

The investigation was spearheaded by Taskforce Maxima, a squad formed specifically to tackle crimes involving motorcycle gangs.

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The bitcoin ATM was seized from the Roastery Cafe in South Brisbane, along with delivery vans and other objects of police interest. Brent Carall, the proprietor of the cafe, and alleged senior member of the gang Senad Ćatić have been arrested, reports the Brisbane Times.

The seized machine, which was Queensland’s first bitcoin ATM, is now in the process of being forensically investigated, according to Taskforce Maxima superintendent Mick Niland. It remains to be established whether the ATM was indeed employed by gang members as part of their drug trafficking network.

The Bandidos are a ‘one percenter’ motorcycle gang with more than 200 chapters around the world. Their operations in Australia are said to be extensive, with chapters located in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and more than a dozen other smaller towns and regions.

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Superintendent Niland said the gang was targeted because it represents a “significant risk” to the Queensland community and described the Bandidos operation as a “highly sophisticated and exclusive drug network” operated by high-end criminals.

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