The Outlaws Motorcycle Club has been identified by the FBI as an international criminal organization whose members engage in acts of violence
On Wednesday afternoon at several Outlaws venues in the Chicagoland area, federal agents arrived with search warrants.
A series of coordinated raids from Kankakee Country to the north suburbs were led by FBI agents and investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, according to a high-ranking federal source in Chicago.
Numerous Outlaws bikers were arrested during the federal raids that have in the past targeted a variety of suspected illegal activities from methamphetamines and other illegal drugs to weapons trafficking, burglary and murder. Heavily-armed federal SWAT officers were seen in camouflage and were backed up by local police in some raid locations.
Story continues belowAdvertisementIt is part of an ongoing, nationwide law enforcement initiative targeting the violent gang. Similar operations were conducted last year in Detroit and Boston. Dozens of indictments followed the raids there, charging racketeering, illegal drug distribution and firearms violations.
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club has been identified by the FBI as an international criminal organization whose members engage in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, assault, narcotics distribution, and firearms and gambling offenses. The Outlaws are a structured and hierarchical gang, much like the Chicago Outfit, divided into multiple regions in the United States. The Outlaws also have members outside the U.S. in Europe, Asia and Canada. The organization, which began in the Chicago suburb of McCook 75 years ago, have a long-standing violent history with the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, including assaults/batteries, shootings and fatalities.
