Motorcycle gang busted for extorting meetups
Suspects apparently demanded exorbitant "quotas" to prevent violence
Police arrested the leader of a motorcycle gang in Valencia, along with three accomplices, who allegedly extorted money from motorcycle organizations and their fans in exchange for not starting fights or causing disturbances at riders' meetups.
According to the police, the suspects had been charging organizers of riders group up to 10,000 eurosbefore they were to hold their annual conventions. They had been extorting groups for 20 years, investigators said.
Authorities found out about the ring after getting in touch with one of the riders' groups that holds an annual meetup in Castellón.
Organizers explained that weeks before the event, the suspects would contact them demanding exorbitant amounts of money in forms of "a quota." The ringleader would tell organizers the conditions in which these meetups could be held.
The three suspects, who were not identified, would collect certain amounts on the food and beverages that were sold at the events.
