AN OPERATION targeting illegal trail bike activity saw fines dished out and one motorcycle confiscated.
Highway patrol police and officers from Tuggerah Lakes hit the ground on Friday to crack down on riders using trail bikes illegally.
A police spokesperson said officers attached to Operation Hondo on January 12 handed out 16 traffic infringement notices.
One trail bike was "confiscated from a young rider", according to police.
"There was significant community engagement and the police presence did deter activities," the spokesperson said.
Operation Hondo was focused on the area between Gwandalan and San Remo, which covers the Lake Macquarie State Conservation Area.
Riders have been warned operations of that nature will continue in the future.
Trail bike operatives from Tuggerah Lakes Police District and "solo cycles" from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, highway patrol and traffic services, were involved in Operation Hondo.
The motorcycle operation at the Central Coast comes amid a spate of dirt bike incidents on roads in the neighbouring Hunter area.
Shocking footage of an unregistered motorbike tearing along a pedestrian path on a bridge at Broadmeadow was captured by a motorist just after 11.15am on Thursday, January 11.
Highway patrol police slammed the motorbike rider's actions at the time as "extremely dangerous".
Riders doing the wrong thing could face criminal charges or multiple fines including for offences like riding on the footpath; using an unregistered, uninsured, unroadworthy vehicle; riding unlicensed, could add up to more than $2000 in fines alone.
Separately, a teenager was ordered to front Newcastle Local Court after he was charged with motorcycle-related offences last week.
His arrest came after Proactive Crime Team officers spotted a yellow unregistered motorcycle being ridden on the Newcastle Inner City Bypass at Jesmond on December 19.
Police alleged the rider was not wearing a helmet and was speeding.
Police further claim they had seen the same 18-year-old doing wheelies, riding on the incorrect side of the road, and riding on footpaths.
In September last year, a dirt bike rider was seriously hurt in a crash with a truck at Windale. The 20-year-old man was taken to John Hunter Hospital with leg, spinal and pelvic injuries.
