Founder of rehab raided by gang police is mother of three senior Head Hunters

A man wearing an ankle bracelet used for monitoring people on electronic bail is escorted from the property on Thursday. Photo / Dean Purcell

The woman who runs a rehabilitation bail facility where a police raid discovered cash, drugs and a pistol is the mother of three senior members of the Head Hunters gang in Auckland.

Nga Kete Wananga Solutions founder Matilda Kahotea said she feels police are targeting her due to her family's gang links.

But she believes people with gang whānau have crucial knowledge and connections to help those involved in organised crime extricate themselves from drugs and the underworld.

The area's MP Mark Mitchell, also National police spokesman, said the discovery of drugs and a gun another facility where defendants are sent by the court for rehabilitation - it is the second such discovery this year at a bail house - represented a "serious failure" of the justice system.

Armed police including specialist Operation Cobalt gang staff descended on the rural Dairy Flat property of Nga Kete yesterday morning.

Nga Kete is a residential facility where people on bail facing charges pay nearly $19,000 for a 12-week programme including treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.

During the raid, police officers found a semi-automatic pistol, ammunition, $5000 cash, about 500g of methamphetamine and 1kg of pseudoephedrine.

The guns, drugs and cash seized by police at Nga Kete. Photo / Supplied

Among the small number of current residents at the facility are prominent members of the Head Hunters, Hells Angels and Mongrel Mob.

A patched member of the Head Hunters was arrested and charged with firearms and drug offences.

Kahotea, a former schoolteacher, has three sons who are senior members of the Head Hunters gang's east chapter in Auckland.

Detectives on the grounds of the facility on Thursday morning. Photo / Dean Purcell

Kahotea is upfront about the gang links of her family members and said her "right-hand lady" also had boys who were in a rival gang.

But that made them the ideal people to try to turn around the lives of people enmeshed in organised crime, she said.

"We're the people who can connect with these guys."

She said police had provided limited information but believed the raid was targeting a resident at the facility who was subject to a long-running investigation.

The semi-automatic pistol seized by police. Photo / Supplied

All other men who were staying at Nga Kete had been let go and transferred to another facility, she said.

"I'm actually still getting my head around it," Kahotea said.

"It's a long story, It's even around who I am, what I'm trying to do here, my family associates.

"As far as I know, it's around one of the clients that they've been investigating for a long time. He's high profile, a lot of the men I have at my facility are high-profile.

"This is the first time this has ever happened to me."

The sign outside the rehabiliation facility housing people on bail. Nga Kete's website says it is a "Maori tikanga and kawa based organisation which offers a 12 week residential support service with rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for men aged 18 years onwards." Photo / Dean Purcell

The discovery of drugs, cash and a firearm at Nga Kete will increase the scrutiny on the services provided by dedicated bail facilities.

Supporters argue there is a desperate need for accommodation for bail, where residents can be supervised and receive much-needed addiction treatment, instead of keeping defendants in prison while they wait for trial.

Police and probation officers, however, have raised concerns about some facilities because of the opportunities for residents with gang and drug links to live together while on bail.

In August, police raided Ahikaa Trust, another facility offering treatment and accommodation to men bail who would otherwise likely remain remanded in custody while awaiting trial or sentence.

Police remained at the property in Postman Rd for several hours on Thursday. Photo / Dean Purcell

Ahikaa was among the first such bail houses to be set up several years ago.

Officers found bundles of cash, ammunition and three firearms - including one military-style semi-automatic with a silencer - concealed in a communal space at the facility in central Auckland.

Kahotea said she believed that operation had led to greater scrutiny of similar facilities.

"And so from what I know, it's the bad publicity that has kind of opened the door for other facilities to be looked upon," she said.

The facility had no tolerance for men bringing in contraband, she said.

"The thing is, I've never had an issue with these guys bringing stuff in.

"We have good control."

Kahotea said the gang associations of her family members, most notably her sons, contributed to the police operation targeting Nga Kete.

"I know they are."

Officers spent hours searching the grounds of the property, including combing a neighbouring muddy paddock. Photo / Dean Purcell

Kahotea said she had expected police attention ever since opening the facility.

"When I opened this place though, I knew this was coming.

"My sons, yes, they are gang members.

"Even my right-hand lady .. her sons are in a rival gang to my boys. But that's why we're there, we want to make a difference.

"We can make a breakthrough with these guys. But we just need the opportunity to do that."

Detective Inspector Aaron Proctor said two other men at the facility were arrested for unpaid fines.

"Today's search warrant is part of the ongoing focus of Operation Cobalt targeting and disrupting illegal behaviour being committed by gang members in our communities," he said.

"Police will continue to hold those to account who are found to be engaging in this sort of activity. We cannot rule out further charges being filed as part of our ongoing inquiries into this matter."

Mitchell, the MP for the Whangaparaoa electorate which encompasses Dairy Flat, said the discovery of illicit drugs and a firearm at the facility was troubling.

"The fact bail rehabilitation facilities are being used as gang pads where illegal firearms, drugs and cash are being recovered by police is a serious failure of our justice system and has put the communities these facilities are located in serious danger," he said.

"Questions need to be answered on who is approving these facilities and who runs them.

"Having gang members sent by the court to effectively what are gang pads, being funded by taxpayers and exposing communities to more danger needs both urgent action and an explanation from the Government."