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A biker gang has rolled into a crime-gripped city in a bid to rid the area of drug dealers and criminality, the Irish Mirror can reveal.

The Freewheelers, who have been in operation since the 70s, are keeping a watchful eye

over six mobs operating in Waterford.

They have been in touch with other groups who want to rid the city of the crimewave gripping the south-east.

While gardai have made dozens of arrests in recent months there are still a number of gangs terrorising working class communities.

Ballybeg has been one of the worst hit areas and the Freewheelers have decided to step up their surveillance.

The bikers’ official website states they have an open “don’t f**k with us” policy. Their club president wrote: “Our policy from day one was to keep Ireland free of international politics which to the most part 35 years later we have achieved.

“Our Alliance with the other 3 True Irish 1% clubs has been a major part of this policy and it is an Alliance which we intend to nurture into the future.

“The Freewheelers MC took a ‘Don’t F**k with Us’ attitude which still holds strong today.”

Sources confirmed to the Irish Mirror that the motorcycle club is on the radar of the gangs.

He said: “The Freewheelers are known all across Waterford. They have been around since the 70s.

“They don’t give a toss what people think of them and they’re sick of these scumbags around the place.

“They would have been around during a time where there was no massive gang trouble in the city. Now there is and you have to say the dealers are taking notice.

“There was one road that was notorious for dealing in and around Ballybeg. Now it’s like a ghost town.

“The gangs, especially the foreign ones, don’t like to admit it but they’re petrified of these guys.”

The Irish Mirror previously revealed how desperate young mums are being coerced

into having sex with members of vicious moneylending gangs in the city to pay off debts.

Several of the cash-strapped women are understood to have fallen victim to the seedy

trap as they struggle to pay back rip-off interest rates on short-term loans.

Gardai have crushed a number of the gangs behind the sordid exploitation but it is believed there are at least three plying their illicit trade in Waterford.