The Head Hunter was feared and revered by members of New Zealand's gangs. Video / Supplied
Two people have been arrested on outstanding arrest warrants, while police also issued 45 infringements in connection with a Head Hunters gang event in Auckland.
Waitematā East AreaCommander, Inspector Stefan Sagar, said police had responded to the new chapter by being highly visible across the weekend and running several checkpoints.
”We had a number of teams working hard to target and disrupt any unlawful gang-related activity.”
As well as the two arrests that led to police pink-stickering one vehicle as being not roadworthy, some driver licences were suspended.
”We want to reiterate that police are keeping a close watch on gang activity and any illegal behaviour will not be tolerated,” Sagar said.
”We continue to encourage the community in Wairau to report any suspicious or illegal activity that may be taking place, we take these reports seriously and in confidence.”
Sagar said anyone concerned about their safety because of the Head Hunters or who witnesses illegal behaviour is urged to call 111 immediately.
Community members can also file a report at 105.police.govt.nz, call police on 105, or report anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 or www.crimestoppers-nz.org.
It comes as the Head Hunters established a new chapter in Auckland for the first time in more than 20 years.
Social media posts reveal a North Shore branch of the outlaw motorcycle club was unveiled last week, with a group photograph of nearly two dozen patched members wearing the new insignia.
The show of strength comes as Government promises to crack down on gangs by passing a raft of new laws within the first 100 days of taking office.
A social media post by the Head Hunters announced the motorcycle gang has expanded with a new chapter on the North Shore in December 2023. Photo / Instagram
The Head Hunters started in the east Auckland suburb of Glen Innes around 1967, but moved across town to west Auckland by 1984 to open their inaugural clubrooms in Henderson.
In the early 2000s, the gang effectively split into three: West, which stayed in the Henderson premises, East, which was set up in Marua Rd in Ellerslie, and North, which was based in Wellsford.
Over the next two decades, the gang’s strength in numbers grew from several dozen patched members to several hundred - to become the third largest gang in New Zealand - as the Head Hunters expanded across the country.
But while the club now has a presence in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and even the bottom of the South Island, permission was not given to officially open chapters in those locations.
Those members spread around the country are aligned with the original chapters in Auckland despite the geographical distance.
Five members of the Head Hunters gang posing poolside at their hotel in Cambodia. Photo / Instagram
Even when the Head Hunters “patched over” another gang in Christchurch in 2016 and took ownership over their clubrooms, the so-called “South Chapter” was technically an offshoot of the West chapter.
So the creation of a fourth chapter in the North Shore - and the first in more than 20 years - is seen as an endorsement of a senior Head Hunter who has long aspired to receive the official recognition of running a chapter.
The new North Shore chapter was previously a crew inside the gang’s dominant East chapter which referred to themselves as “Northside” - a name they effectively trademarked in the criminal underworld and protect fiercely.
This was demonstrated when a local motorcycle repair shop was sold in 2021.
The new owner was a member of the Mongols, a rival gang set up by Australian deportees, so Head Hunters were no longer welcome, and the business was also rebranded as Northside Power Sports - which the Head Hunters also took exception to.
This led to a tit-for-tat war of drive-by shootings and arsons, which culminated in the infamous shooting inside the lobby of the Sofitel hotel in downtown Auckland.
Now a standalone chapter, the North Shore Head Hunters are led by an influential member who enjoyed a round-the-world holiday with his crew earlier this year.
