Denmark looks to dissolve Bandidos motorcycle club after trail of violence

Members of Bandidos in Denmark have been jailed for murder, attempted murder, assault and drug-related crimes

A Bandidos gang member sits on his motorcycle outside a Berlin club in 2011

Denmark's government said Wednesday it wants a court of law to dissolve the Danish arm of the Bandidos motorcycle club.

Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the group's “brutal behavior leaves bloody traces.”

Under Denmark’s Constitution, organizations that promote or incite violence can be dissolved by court order.

The Danish chapter of Bandidos MC was created in 1993. Three years later, a feud between them and the rivals Hells Angels broke out in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, ending with 11 dead and nearly 100 wounded.

In recent years, members of Bandidos in Denmark have been jailed for murder, attempted murder, assault and drug-related crimes.

The lawyer representing Bandidos, Michael Juul Eriksen, told broadcaster TV 2 that he was not surprised by the move after the government said in June that a specialized police unit was looking into disbanding the group.

Hells Angels in Münster, Germany, after two Bandidos were convicted of murdering one of their number (Reuters)

“The freedom of association was not created to protect mean criminals,” Hummelgaard said, adding that other organized gangs in Denmark could also face dissolution. "I would like to have them all banned if it is legally possible," he told a press conference.

In September 2018, Danish police issued a temporary nationwide ban against th e Loyal to Familia organized criminal group. In 2021, Denmark's Supreme Court agreed with a lower court’s conclusion that the group was a threat to public order, and the group has since been dissolved.

in the UK last year three bikers were jailed for killing a rival motorcycle gang member who wore his “colours” on their patch.

Benjamin Parry, 42, and Chad Brading, 36, both from Plymouth, along with Thomas Pawley, 32, from Ivybridge, were found guilty of the manslaughter of David Crawford, a 59-year-old grandfather from Plymouth.

Parry was jailed for 12 years, while Brading and Pawley were sentenced to four years. The trio, who were part of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, were all cleared of murder.

The elder member, sentenced to longer in prison because of his “significant, if not leading, role”, was also banned from driving for 10 years.

The victim, who was a member of rival chapter, the Red Chiefs, was killed on the A38 near Plymouth on the evening of 12 May 2022, in what was described in court as a “coordinated attack”.