Gang patch ban: Alleged Head Hunters West president in court charged with wearing patch at petrol station

The alleged president of the Head Hunters in West Auckland has appeared in court charged with wearing his patch and having the gang’s symbols on his motorbike on the day the patch ban came into force.

Philip Robarts, aged 61, was one of those arrested on November 22 in an early morning raid on the Head Hunters West chapter pad in View Rd, Henderson, after gang members were captured on CCTV riding through the Mobil Wellsford allegedly wearing their patches.

Police say he is the president of the gang’s west chapter and have seized his patch and Harley Davidson motorcycle. Court documents list his occupation as welder.

He appeared before community magistrate Fenella Thomas in the Waitakere District Court on Friday facing two charges under the new law of displaying gang insignia in public.

His lawyer Sam Wimsett KC did not apply for name suppression for Robarts.

Wimsett asked for Robarts to be remanded without plea until another hearing on December 18 in the same court. Police did not apply for any bail conditions and he was remanded at large.

Police seized motorcycles and patches in the raid a week ago.

The raid, understood to be the first under the Gangs Act 2024, came the day after a group of Head Hunters, including the man, were caught on camera allegedly displaying gang insignia including patches and emblems on their motorcycles while riding through the Mobil petrol station in Wellsford.

Police at the Head Hunters West pad in View Rd, Henderson on November 22 in the first raid under the new Gangs Act. Photo / Michael Craig

Court documents show police allege he was riding his Harley Davidson Street Glide motorcycle bearing Head Hunters insignia at the petrol station in north Auckland, while wearing his gang patch.

Police seized Harley Davidson motorcycles bearing gang insignia from the Head Hunters West pad in View Rd, Henderson. Several people were arrested and charged with wearing their patches and riding the bikes emblazoned with Head Hunters insignia on the day the new law came into force. Photo / NZ Police

Anyone convicted of displaying gang insignia under the new law faces a maximum term of imprisonment of six months or a fine of up to $5000. Their gang insignia including patches are forfeited to the Crown and may be destroyed, Section 7 of the Gangs Act states.

On Thursday, police said they’d laid 38 charges in the first week of the new law.

People are still allowed to wear gang patches in private. However, they can be slapped with a prohibition order, preventing them from wearing gang insignia even in their homes, if they are repeatedly convicted of displaying gang insignia in public.