Civilian staff member 'visited fugitive'

A woman accused of helping a member of the Head Hunters to avoid arrest while she worked for the police is alleged to have visited him while he was in hiding.

The woman, who has interim name suppression, is jointly charged with another woman, who also cannot be named, with helping David Dunn avoid arrest, knowing that he had conspired to deal methamphetamine.

The woman was a non-sworn member of police, working at the Northern Communications Centre at the time of the alleged offending. She has since resigned.

A warrant to arrest Dunn was issued on February 23 after a police operation targeting members of the Head Hunters.

Police appealed on the television programme Police Ten 7 for sightings of him and posted a notice on the internal police website to alert staff he was wanted.

Police alleged the woman was in close contact with Dunn and her co-accused after February 23, and had visited them in Taihape. She is alleged to have set up a membership at a Taihape video store for their use and also faces a charge of possession of a pipe for the purpose of consuming methamphetamine.

She did not enter a plea and was remanded on bail when she appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday.