Red River biker shooting sparks massive raid of Bandidos’ homes
Story by Curtis Segarra KRQE August 31, 2023
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/red-river-biker-shooting-sparks-massive-raid-of-bandidos-homes/ar-AA1g3In8
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Months after a deadly shooting in Red River, New Mexico, a court document reveals the feds are looking into alleged members and supporters of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club. New Mexico State Police have previously connected the club to the shooting that killed two individuals and injured six. But the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) says there’s more to it than a single shooting – some motorcycle club members have called it a “war” between clubs.
In an affidavit filed in federal court, an FBI agent asked a judge for a warrant to search 25 different locations around New Mexico. The FBI was looking for people with Bandidos tattoos, the affidavit says.
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The effort to round up suspects comes after intel from more than a dozen state and federal agencies helped the FBI focus on addresses in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas, Belen, Tome, Grants, Gallup, Farmington, San Rafael, Hobbs, Capitan, Arabela, Ruidoso, and Alamogordo.
The FBI investigation dates back to 2020 when the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office warned the FBI about a “potential ‘war’ between two rival motorcycle clubs in Albuquerque,” the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. The police intel claimed that the Mongols Motorcycle Club was stockpiling guns and surveilling members of the Bandidos, which had been the dominating club in New Mexico, according to the FBI agent. The FBI says this rivalry goes back years and that some Mongols were former Bandidos who were thrown out of the club.
Law enforcement acted on that intel back in 2020, arresting a Mongols member and collecting several firearms. But over the years, several Mongols-Bandidos encounters ensued, leaving people injured and shot in both New Mexico and Texas, the FBI agent says in the affidavit. The buildup culminated in the May 2023 Red River shooting, where several Bandidos confronted a group called the Water Dogs Motorcycle Club over whether they had allegiance to the Bandidos or the Mongols, the FBI says.
Over the past three and a half years, the FBI counts 11 people dead in connection to the motorcycle clubs’ interactions. Now, the FBI is targeting the “most aggressive proponents” of the violence.
Executing search warrants on properties around New Mexico, the FBI is hoping to mitigate violence by Bandidos, seize weapons, investigate unsolved crimes that may be tied to Bandidos, and put offenders behind bars, according to the FBI affidavit.
This is a developing news story. The FBI is expected to give more information in a press conference. KRQE News 13 will provide updates as they become available.
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