Police warn of Tauranga traffic disruption during funeral for father of high-profile gang member

Mongols gang president Jim David (or JD) Thacker is serving more than 22 years in prison for a range of offences. It is unknown whether he will be given compassionate leave for his father's funeral on Friday. Photo / NZME composite

Police are warning motorists in the Tauranga region about the potential for traffic jams as mourners make their way to a funeral of the father of a high-profile gang boss.

Jim David Thacker was deported from Australia and established the first New Zealand chapter of the Mongols, an international outlaw motorcycle club with roots in the United States.

The arrival of the Mongols in the Bay of Plenty, in particular, sparked a turf war with rival gangs, including a shooting where 96 rounds were fired into a house.

But Thacker had never been in prison until June 2020 when he was arrested as the main target in Operation Silk, a covert police investigation into the gang’s drug and violent offending.

Better known as J.D., Thacker was convicted of 40 charges, including unlawful possession of firearms, participating in an organised criminal group, possession of methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA for supply, and money laundering.

He was sentenced to 22 years and four months in prison and is currently an inmate in the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit (Peru) in Auckland Prison in Paremoremo, New Zealand’s only maximum security prison.

The Peru has been described as a “prison within a prison” and is a separate custodial unit with different staff and management, where prisoners such as Thacker often serve their sentence in “directed segregation”, or solitary confinement.

Earlier this week, Thacker’s father – himself a former gang member – died at the age of 66. The tangi will be at a marae near Te Puke, west of Tauranga, before his burial at a nearby urupā on Friday.

The Herald has asked if J.D. Thacker will be granted compassionate leave to attend his father’s tangi, but the Department of Corrections has yet to comment.

But regardless of that decision, the tangi is expected to draw a large crowd of mourners – many of whom are likely to be members of the Mongols gang from out of town.

The influx of visitors coming to pay their respects could also reignite tensions with local gangs that the Mongols clashed with previously, most notably the Greazy Dogs and the Mongrel Mob.

Inspector Clifford Paxton, the Western Bay of Plenty area commander, said police are aware of a gang-related tangi for the father of a “prominent gang member”.

He said police would be monitoring the funeral and procession near Te Puke, which is due to take place around noon Friday.

“Motorists are advised to plan ahead as police believe there could be some disruptions on the road, while attendees make their way to the tangi from Tauranga and other areas,” Paxton said in a written statement.

“Police advise those attending that we will not tolerate any unlawful activity, and this will be met with enforcement action where it is identified.”

If police are unable to take enforcement action at the time, Paxton said officers would follow up later.

Since the Gangs Act came into force in November, the police have taken a more hard-line approach in monitoring gang-related funeral processions and tangi, which in some cases has involved marae elders and grieving families.

Jared Savage is an award-winning journalist who covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006, and is the author of Gangland and Gangster’s Paradise.