The club's activities in Australia have traditionally included drug trafficking, prostitution, armed robbery, arms trafficking, fencing stolen goods and murder-for-hire, but they have more recently moved into legitimate businesses such as gyms, tattoo parlours, haulage companies, and the security industry. They are one of around thirty-five outlaw motorcycle clubs in Australia, which have an estimated 3,500 members in total. The Hells Angels expanded to Australia in 1975, initially establishing chapters in Melbourne and Sydney, and now have approximately two-hundred-and-fifty members and fourteen chapters in the country. It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Hells Angels MC criminal allegations and incidents in Australia.
16.16.3 Assault, murder, and conflict with rival clubs.Members of the club have been accused of crimes and/or convicted in many host nations.
Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole.
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution operations.