Operation Atlas: Hawke's Bay gang member charged after cache of firearms and ammunition found at house

The seized Heckler & Koch .22 rifle. Photo / Supplied

A Hawke's Bay gang member has been arrested and charged after a search warrant recovered a cache of firearms and ammunition at a property near Wairoa.

Wairoa Area Response Manager Senior Sergeant Maui Aben said Friday's search warrant was executed at a Black Power-linked property on Lake Road, Frasertown, under the umbrella of Operation Atlas.

Atlas is a police response focusing on the disruption and prevention of organised crime and gang-related offending across the Eastern Police district, with a current focus on Wairoa.

The seized Marlin .22 rifle. Photo / Supplied

Police located the following firearms and ammunition concealed at the rural property - 1 Heckler & Koch .22 rifle, 1 Marlin .22 rifle, 1 Escort Legacy semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun,1 Carl Gustav .308 rifle and ammunition including shotgun cartridges and rifle rounds of several different calibres.

A Carl Gustav .308 rifle and ammunition was seized as part of a search warrant execution in Wairoa. Photo / Supplied

Maben said the 27-year-old man, who has ties to Black Power, had been been charged with four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and one of unlawful possession of explosives, namely ammunition.

He was due to appear in the Gisborne District Court on Monday.

The search warrant was undertaken by local Wairoa Police with the support of staff from the wider Tairawhiti area and other districts.

"Seizing these firearms and getting them out of the hands of those who should not have them is significant for our community," Maben said.

"Police are still to determine where the firearms originated from and whether they have been used in any recent firearms incidents in the wider Wairoa area."