New gang The Pirates forms in Christchurch, comprised of former Killer Beez, Tribesmen members

A new gang calling themselves The Pirates have set up in Christchurch. Photo / 123rf

A new gang formed behind bars is muscling into the Christchurch underworld scene.

The Pirates, which reportedly use the classic pirate phrase ‘Argh’ as a signature calling, are made up of former and loosely associated existing gang members, including Tribesmen MC, Killer Bees, and Mongrel Mob, the Herald understands.

Sources say the gang has attracted some serious and dangerous criminal elements, including well-known gangsters with a history of violence and drug offending, and are high on the local police radar.

It’s understood they have come together while in prison – and it’s not clear how formal the arrangement is, or whether they are a freelancing collective - to push into the lucrative drug dealing scene.

Some have been kicked out of other gangs, sources say.

The Herald has been told that members don’t yet have official patches but have been spotted around the Garden City sporting pirate hoodies and hats.

Numbers are currently small, perhaps around a dozen members, but they are making themselves known.

When approached for comment, police were tight-lipped, saying only: “Police are aware of this new gang.”

In January 2021, the Herald revealed how the Mongrel Mob was making waves in Canterbury, with several North Island members making the move south.

The Mongrel Mob has bolstered its presence in Christchurch in recent times. Photo / NZME

It was understood that it involved several key figures from around the Hawke’s Bay region, where the underbelly organisation has a major foothold.

There has been a seismic shift in Christchurch’s gang landscape in recent years.

In have come Australian bikie gangs like the Mongols MC and Rebels MC, shaking up the city’s established underworld hierarchy.

In 2020, Mongols MC members, including national president Jim David “JD” Thacker, himself a 501 deportee, established a chapter in the city after patching over ex-members of the notorious Hells Angels international bikie group, including Jason Ross, who would be made the local president.

A 2019 New Zealand Police organised crime governance group insights report found that the New Zealand adult gang population is “growing rapidly”, and violent and drug-related crime was proportionally rising.

New Zealand police launched Operation Cobalt last July to respond to a spike in intimidating behaviour and violence by gangs in the first half of the year.

Since then, the police have seized hundreds of firearms and laid thousands of charges in court, as well as confiscating commercial quantities of drugs and large sums of cash.