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High-powered guns, drugs and cash were found at an Auckland bail facility for the second time.
Two men were arrested, one a Mongrel Mob member, on charges related to drugs and firearms.
Corrections and Police Minister Mark Mitchell maintains his critical stance on bail facilities.
High-powered guns, drugs and cash have been discovered in a dedicated Auckland bail facility for the second time, the Herald can reveal.
The alarming find will hand ammunition to critics of bail facilities who have raised concerns about residents with gang and drug links living together while facing active charges.
On the other hand, supporters of bail facilities say there is a desperate need to provide accommodation for those eligible for bail who have nowhere else to go.
Corrections and Police Minister Mark Mitchell — who railed against bail facilities when he was an Opposition MP — says his views have not changed and he will have “more to say on this in the new year”.
His comments came after detectives found 2kg of methamphetamine, a pistol with a silencer and an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle during raids last week at what were described as “drug rehabilitation facilities” on the North Shore.
“It was also noted that controlled drugs had been or had attempted to have been flushed down the toilet,” said Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Williams in a press statement.
Two men, aged 35 and 37, were arrested and charged with offences relating to the supply and distribution of class A drugs and the unlawful possession of firearms.
The younger man is a patched member of the Mongrel Mob, while his co-accused has links with several gangs, the police said.
The investigation was ongoing and further arrests were likely, Williams said.
Court documents show the pair were living at residential property on the North Shore used by the Ahikaa Trust, which provides accommodation to individuals who otherwise do not have a suitable address for bail or parole.
The Herald has previously reported that a cache of semi-automatic weapons, cash and drugs were found at an Ahikaa property in downtown Auckland two years ago.
The use of the converted apartment block on Karaka St was gifted to the trust by Mark Lyon, the property developer who died in prison after being convicted of depraved sex crimes against young women at the same address.
Ahikaa Trust moved out of the CBD building but continued to offer bail accommodation on the North Shore property raided last week.
Karen Ngamu, the trust manager, said she was disappointed about the discovery of the firearms and drugs at the Pupuke Rd property.
She declined to comment further on the search warrant because the matter was before the courts, other than to say she was not the supervisor at the raided address.
Speaking more generally, Ngamu said Ahikaa had been running bail facilities at the North Shore properties for five years “without any problems”.
Ngamu said that along with her sister Elaine, she had been working at the “coalface” of prisoner rehabilitation and drug addiction without government funding for many years.
Many of the criminal defendants they worked with were victims themselves, often suffering traumatic abuse as children, Ngamu said.
“These are not Boy Scouts we’re dealing with,” said Karen Ngamu. “But we are a grassroots organisation … we can go to places and reach people that the police can’t.
“So we’ve had a lot of success stories of people who have turned their lives around. One is running a garage, one is working for the City Mission … You never hear about those ones.”
Despite that, Ngamu said she understood the concerns of police about defendants with gang or drug links living together in bail facilities.
“If you don’t want to use the opportunity [of being released on bail], to better yourself, then you deserve to go back to prison,” said Ngamu.
“If you don’t cherish your bail, go back to jail.”
A patched member of the Mongrel Mob has been charged with drugs and firearms offences after police found 2kg of meth, an AK-47 rifle and a pistol at the Ahikaa Trust bail facility on the North Shore. Composite photo / NZME
The Ahikaa Trust is not the only bail facility that has come under scrutiny in recent years.
In 2022, a former Head Hunter gang member Darren Creelman was on bail at Nga Kete Wananga Solutions, a rehab centre in Dairy Flat, after being arrested for meth offences.
Detectives found a semi-automatic pistol, about 400g of meth and nearly 1kg of pseudoephedrine — a key ingredient in meth — in a paddock at the Nga Kete property.
The Herald is also aware of a large amount of cash and a gun being found at the Grace Foundation facility in Auckland.
Darren Creelman, a former Head Hunter, was convicted and sentenced after police found drugs, cash and a firearm at the Nga Kete Wananga Solutions bail facility in 2022. Photo / NZME
When the Ahikaa Trust was first raided in 2022 and police discovered cash, ammunition and three firearms — including a military-style, semi-automatic fitted with a silencer — Mark Mitchell was the National Party spokesman for police.
“It is deeply concerning that alleged offenders are being sent to a bail and reintegration facility by the courts only to find that military-style weapons, drugs and cash are being recovered by police,” Mitchell said at the time.
“It’s unacceptable. If any taxpayers’ money is being used to fund this facility then there are some serious questions that need answering.”
After the latest raids on the North Shore, Mitchell said he had not changed his view of bail facilities since becoming the Minister for Police and Corrections.
“Since coming into government I have continued to investigate, particularly in relation to the facilities that have received government funding. I will have more to say on this next year.”
Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland and Gangster’s Paradise.
