Police thank public for help nabbing fugitive near Moerewa

Police guard a bridge on Pokapu Rd, near Moerewa, while the Armed Offenders Squad searches for Dylan Cooper. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Police have thanked the public for their help in catching a man wanted on a raft of serious firearms, robbery and driving charges.

Dylan Cooper, also known as Dylan Carrington, was arrested on Sunday night and appeared in the Kaikohe District Court on Monday morning charged with more than 20 offences including aggravated robbery, committing a crime with a firearm, dangerous driving and burglary.

He had been on the run for months, sparking a series of searches involving police dogs, the Eagle helicopter and the Armed Offenders Squad.

Each time he managed to give police the slip by dumping his car after a high-speed chase then fleeing on foot — until Sunday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kevan Verry said the Moerewa 30-year-old, a patched Mongrel Mob member, was located at an address near Hokianga Harbour.

Verry, who heads a new organised crime unit in the Mid North, said police carried out a thorough investigation and took gang and firearm-related offending seriously.

''While this particular investigation has been brought to a successful conclusion, police will continue to investigate offending of this nature with urgency and we are focused in helping make the communities of Northland a safer place to live,'' he said.

Verry acknowledged the Northland community for its assistance and hoped the arrest provided residents with some reassurance.

Cooper was previously spotted in Kapiro Rd, north of Kerikeri, on October 1 but left the area before police could set up cordons.

He was recognised again that evening near Paihia, allegedly leading police on a chase then dumping his car in Waitangi before escaping on foot.

Residents reported seeing the police helicopter circling over Waitangi that night.

Earlier, on September 21, his vehicle was seen near Kaikohe and eventually abandoned on farmland off Pokapu Rd, near Moerewa. That sparked another major search in bush and farmland using dogs, a helicopter and the Armed Offenders Squad.

He has been remanded in custody and is due back in court by audiovisual link on December 1.