Three men jailed after biker feud escalates

Three members of a biker gang involved in making firearms using a 3D printer in an escalating feud with a rival group have been jailed.

The gang dispute was uncovered by officers investigating a car crashing into a biker gang's clubhouse in Cadishead, Salford on 23 August 2020, Greater Manchester Police said.

The five-year investigation led to the arrest of several members of the Manchester Bandidos motorcycle club, which revealed what the force described as an unexpected "world of criminality".

Ringleader Steve Mason, gang members Dale Austin and Leslie Lamb were jailed for nine years, six years and 27 months respectively at Manchester Crown Court, after admitting a range of offences.

Police likened the feud to a "real world" example of the biker gang crime TV drama Sons of Anarchy.

The investigation first began with reports of a car hitting the clubhouse on Liverpool Road, Cadishead.

It emerged earlier that day members of the Hells Angels biker group had visited a pub near the Bandidos clubhouse on Chester Road in Trafford and spread themselves out along the road in what officers called "a show of disrespect, taunting their rivals who were not at the clubhouse at the time".

Police believe a revenge plan was hatched that evening and a hired Peugeot was reversed into the front of the Hells Angels' clubhouse before midnight, with phone data placing Lamb and a co-defendant in the area.

Lamb, 43, of Hartford Gardens, Timperley, who admitted criminal damage and cultivating cannabis, was the brains behind the revenge attack, police said.

A cannabis farm was later found in his home and his DNA matched that found on a 3D-printed firearm in Manchester.

Mason, 36, was linked to the manufacture of a PG22 Maverick 3D-printed revolver, with his DNA found on the trigger.

Officers also recovered a Llama .38 Special revolver, six rounds of live ammunition, various 3D printers and digital blueprints for other printable weapons.

Austin, 31, who lived with Mason, admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

He was linked to the revolver and ammunition seized in Exmouth.

Austin was also arrested for possession of Class A drugs during later enquiries.

Det Con Mike Armstrong-Porter - who has since retired - said: "This investigation originally started out as a call in relation to a road traffic collision. What transpired turned out to be a world of criminality we were not expecting.

"This, in essence, was a real-world 'Sons of Anarchy' dispute between two motorcycle clubs with a real disliking to each other."

He added it "escalated into an operation that would see us recover deadly, homemade, manufactured firearms capable of causing serious harm".

Armstrong-Porter said the individuals "were part of an organised network prepared to arm themselves and others, with complete disregard for public safety".

He added: "The recovery of 3D printers, digital blueprints, and component parts shows how easily technology can be exploited for criminal purposes."

Three other members of the biker club received sentences ranging from an 18-month suspended jail term to a two-year community order.

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