March 23rd, 2023Dozens arrested as youth gang sting detects more than 100 offences

Police have arrested 15 people linked to street gangs earlier this month as part of an operation which saw nearly 70 people arrested in total and over 100 offences identified.

As part of Operation Alliance, police from multiple regions and specialist areas joined forces earlier this month to disrupt gang activity, arrest violent offenders and engage with those on the fringes of youth gangs at the earliest opportunity to divert them away from joining a gang and offending.

The western suburbs, northern suburbs, south-east and inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne were all saturated with a highly visible police presence, including Croydon, Dandenong, Melton, Point Cook, Springvale, Truganina and Werribee.

Police arrested 67 people over the course of the operation, which ran from 5 – 9 March. This included 15 with links to street gangs, with the majority aged between 15 and 17-years-old.

A key component of Operation Alliance sees police regularly knocking on the doors of Victoria’s most serious and violent youth gang members to ensure they are complying with their bail conditions.

All up 126 bail compliance checks were performed over the five nights, with nearly 75% of people found to be complying with their conditions.

Anyone with information about criminal activity is urged to report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via Crime Stoppers online.