William ‘Bird’ Hines’ Head Hunter son Mossy forfeits $90,000 seized in police searches

Mossy Hines, in a police photo released in 2006, has forfeited almost $90,000. Photo / NZ Police

William “Bird” Hines’ Head Hunter son must forfeit nearly $90,000 of “tainted” cash he earned from his criminal activities - including $20,000 police found in his underpants.

Mossy Hines is a patched member of the gang who has spent most of the past 10 years in jail. He has a range of criminal convictions including possessing methamphetamine for supply.

He is also the son of William “Bird” Hines, the senior Head Hunters member who died last month and was farewelled with a large gang tangi near Foxton.

In March 2021, police searched Mossy Hines’ home in Pakuranga, Auckland and found $63,610 in cash. Hines had tried to hide $20,000 of that in his underpants.

They also found a firearm, ammunition and small amounts of controlled drugs, a High Court decision released on Friday detailed.

In June 2022, police arrested Hines at the SkyCity casino in Auckland and found he was carrying $10,370 in cash in a satchel.

Earlier, they had searched his new home in Howick when he was not there, finding ammunition and what appeared to be a cannabis plant.

In September 2022, police stopped Hines after he got out of his car in Highland Park, Auckland.

Mossy Hines is the son of notorious gangster William "Bird" Hines, who died last month.

In his Gucci bum bag, they found 43g of methamphetamine, some cannabis plant and $15,296 in cash.

The cash from all three searches - a total of $89,276 - was seized by police, who then applied to the High Court to have it forfeited to the Crown under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009.

The act aims to deter people from engaging in criminal activity by confiscating their ill-gotten gains. Money and assets are seized by police, and can be forfeited to the Crown by a High Court order.

In Hines’ case, Justice David Johnstone said the money had been held for more than a year while various criminal charges progressed through the courts.

Hines now consented to the forfeiture and “no other person appears to be interested in the cash”, Justice Johnstone said in his decision.

In determining that the cash was “tainted property” obtained by criminal means, the judge noted Hines’ gang membership and criminal history.

He said between September 2014 and June 2022, the only income Hines declared to Inland Revenue was $6850 in benefit payments.

The judge noted, however, that Hines had spent all but about two years of that time in prison.

Head Hunter gangsters set off from Auckland on their mass ride for the tangi of William "Bird" Hines near Foxton last month. Photo / Hayden Woodward

A bank account he operated between April 2019 and June 2020 - the only one in his name in the past decade - showed deposits of less than $10,000 from the Ministry of Social Development, $15,000 in cash deposits and around $40,500 in unexplained third-party deposits.

These did not seem to come from salary, wages, or rental income.

The only explanation Hines had given for the cash police seized was that he got the $15,296 in his bum bag in September 2022 from selling a car the previous evening.

“Overall, I am satisfied that the cash is tainted property,” Justice Johnstone said.

“The apparent lack of legitimate sources of income, and the regular finding of cash sums in proximity to amounts of controlled drugs, demonstrates that it is likely the cash was acquired or derived from selling controlled drugs, and if not then in any event from the evasion of tax.”

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.