Bikies head for Nelson

Police in Picton corralled all obvious bikies coming off a Cook Strait ferry this afternoon, checking for licences, taking details and breath testing some.

The crackdown came as legions of Hell’s Angels members are expected in Nelson this weekend for a poker run.

About 30 bikies were stopped after they had disembarked from the ferry at 2pm, before heading to Nelson.

About 12 police were involved in the operation.

Most of the bikies were Hells Angels gang members.

The poker run marks the one year anniversary of the first public outing in Nelson of patched members of the Red Devils, a puppet gang of the Hells Angels.

That poker run saw more than 200 bikes, with 30-plus patched gang  members, including four Red Devils, ride from the Turf Hotel in Stoke through Moutere, Riwaka, Tapawera and back. Today the Turf pulled out of tomorrow's run.

A threat has come from Southern Skinheads' president 'Max', who said the Angels were not welcome in Nelson because they would bring P with them.

"We will burn any pub they drink at, any motel they stay at and may take it to the extent we will probably try to shoot them off their motorbikes," he said.

But this morning Havelock Hotel owner Johanne Wilcox said she was not expecting any trouble from the bikie gang.

While the Hells Angels had not visited before, other gangs had passed through but generally not stopped.

Gang patches were not allowed in the pub, she said.

However she would be vigilant regardless.

Crow Tavern owner Caryn Robertson said in the five years she had been there they had "never had a problem".

Mrs Robertson said she presumed the gang would travel straight through Queen Charlotte Drive and probably not stop until they reached Nelson.

Another publican, who didn't wish to be identified, said the hotel regularly had bikie groups through but did not expect any trouble.

"We have never had any trouble with any bikies, Hell's Angels or otherwise."

Nelson Bays police area commander, Detective Inspector John Winter, said police would have a zero tolerance in road policing and other offending, and that would be made clear.

- The Marlborough Express