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Killer Beez began life on the streets of Otara but followers now wear their yellow colours across Auckland and into the Far North.
It is the most notorious and developed street gang with an adult leadership based around Josh Masters, a 117kg kickboxer.
There is an associated hip hop music and clothing label, Colourway Records.
The Killer Beez started five years ago as a feeder to the Tribesmen motorcycle gang but soon gained its own identity and police say the two gangs now appear intertwined, sharing senior members like Masters.
The Killer Beez have continued to grow and have actively been trying to move in on the North Shore, which until this week's attacks has not had the gang problems seen in central and South Auckland.
Masters, known as Gravity, raps on the album released last year called Skull Fingers Up named after a bony hand giving the finger. It is sold at the Otara flea markets and some music stores, as are clothes bearing the Colourway logo - a tower at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo.
Under Masters' leadership, the Killer Beez became well-known in South Auckland, with the Greenmount East Tamaki Business Association issuing a public warning to its members in 2006, saying they used standover tactics for vehicle crime, targeted laptops as they had access to receivers for them, and had been involved in a couple of incidents where pistols were drawn.
Last year, the Herald on Sunday revealed the Killer Beez had taken over a former Scout hall in Otara and used it for organised fights.
Police say the Killer Beez have a presence across Northland, particularly Kaikohe. A vicious bashing and robbery of a couple in Paihia in the early hours of Thursday similar to the North Shore attacks saw police arrest a man wearing Killer Beez regalia.
Police have also reported intelligence that the Killer Beez have tried to merge or come to an understanding with the Dope, Money, Sex street gang that is strong in the western suburbs of Auckland city.
The Killer Beez followers are known by their yellow-and-black streetwear, yellow bandannas, and stylised tattoos. Seemingly endless Bebo pages support the Killer Beez. A dollar sign is another popular emblem.
Masters has refused repeated interview requests from the Weekend Herald.
