Grenades, tear gas flush out gangster

A gang member on the run from Northland police for a month was found hiding in a cavity under the floor after armed police used tear gas and stun grenades to try to force him from a Kamo home.
The drama  paralysed the Whangarei suburb yesterday,  forcing businesses and a high school to close. But senior Whangarei police say the almost four-hour operation went to plan and staff and public safety was never at risk.
More than 30 police staff, including members of the Armed Offenders Squad (AOS), were involved in the operation that began at 5.45am when officers went to a house in Wilkinson Ave, Kamo, to carry out a search warrant.
On eight separate occasions during the stand-off, loud shots reverberated around the  street -  also the main access to Kamo High School - as the AOS fired tear gas and stun grenades through windows into the house.
An hour after police  surrounded the cream-coloured wooden home and repeatedly appealed for the man to come out, a woman and four children,  under the age of 9, walked out the front door to safety.
But the man remained inside. Police fired the first round of tear gas into the house at 8.10am.
A series of tear gas and stun grenades were fired in before police went into the house and found the man hiding in a cavity under the floor about 9.30am.
The black-clad armed officers spilled out on to the street with the man, who was marched down the driveway and put in an unmarked police car and taken to Whangarei police station.
Firefighters moved in to vent of the fumes the house before officers conducted a thorough search of the property.
Police incident controller Inspector Murray Hodson said the operation went to plan given police were dealing with an allegedly "unbalanced, unpredictable man, who was well known to police and was totally evasive".
"He was in an under floor vent, he took considerable evasive action ... that's how desperate he was to avoid police."
He said police  were able to maintain full control of the area. "I'm extremely satisfied with the outcome especially from the police response to maximise safety and minimise risk. We walked away with our subject. Northland's highly trained police are more than capable to deal with the criminal fraternity living here," Mr Hodson said.
Officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Shane Pilmer, said significant planning had gone into the operation.
By hiding under the floor boards, the man  may have been able to stay in the house longer with the tear gas than if he had been walking around.
No firearms were found at the house but drug utensils were located. It's alleged the woman had a small amount of cannabis and methamphetamine on her when spoken to by police. During the drama, hundreds of Kamo High School students were directed by principal Bernie Taffs to McDonald's and Kamo Primary before they were allowed through the school gates just after 10am. Even then locals were told to go home and those that stayed were supervised until buses took them home.
Business owners were not allowed through the police cordons, paralysing Kamo's central business area, and traffic was diverted.

Lawrence Fenton, 35, appeared in the Whangarei District Court yesterday on 23 charges including offering to supply methamphetamine, conspiring to sell methamphetamine and supplying methamphetamine. He was remanded in custody and will appear again on Monday for a bail hearing.
Chanelle Matthews, 24, was also arrested after leaving the house when it was discovered she was allegedly breaching her bail. She also faces a charge of possession of cannabis, one of possession of methamphetamine and one of possessing utensils for methamphetamine use.
No plea was taken and she was remanded in custody until today for a bail hearing.