The leader of motorbike gang No Surrender has been arrested on charges of assault, blackmail, robbery with violence and forgery, the police said on Tuesday morning.

Henk Kuiper, 53, was arrested at his home in Emmen in Drenthe, the police statement said.

At the same time, police arrested a 59-year-old man in Sneek, in Friesland and searched an office in Drachten. That man is suspected of using Kuiper to ‘settle’ business disputes and collect unpaid bills.

The police statement said that Kuiper is suspected of assaulting at least eight members of the motorbike gang between 2014 and 2017 and blackmailing them for failing to comply with the club rules.

Several members were also required to pay fines of several thousand euros or hand over valuable personal property, the police said.

Police also said they suspected a number of Kuiper’s alleged victims were too scared to come forward and called on them not to give into fear. ‘More important is the fact that the safety of our society is being compromised,’ police said.

There have been several attempts in the Netherlands to outlaw motorbike gangs because of their alleged connections to organised crime but all have so far failed.