Members of the NZ Police Armed Offenders Squad were seen outside the Headhunters pad in West Auckland on View Rd in Henderson. Video / NZME
The president of the Head Hunters West branch has had his patch and motorbike seized as more than a dozen gang members face court after the first 24 hours of the new insignia ban.
The 61-year-old was targeted during an early morning raid in West Auckland where police led handcuffed gang members out in their pyjamas.
Police seized gang patches from the Head Hunters West pad in View Rd, Henderson. Photo / NZ Police
A warrant for the Henderson pad came after five patched members were spotted on motorcycles yesterday morning.
A 52-year-old was identified as one of the members and was arrested this morning.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham said the warrant should “serve as a notice” to gang members that police will follow up on breaches of the new law.
Police also seized motorcycles from the Head Hunters West pad in View Rd, Henderson. Photo / NZ Police
It follows more gang members from both the North and South Islands having been arrested or summonsed to court for failing to adhere to the laws that came into effect at midnight on Wednesday.
Waitematā
A 27-year-old Head Hunter was arrested and charged at the Henderson Night Markets yesterday.
Basham said he was wearing a sweatshirt with a patch on it.
He is due to appear in Waitākere District Court on November 27.
Counties Manukau
A 51-year-old Black Power-linked Mangu Kaha gang member refused to hand over his patch to officers yesterday morning and has been arrested and charged.
Basham said he eventually surrendered the patch after conversations with officers and is due in the Papakura District Court on November 28.
Later the same day, police opened an investigation into a man on Porchester Rd in Takanini after reports of a patched man in a stolen vehicle.
A second 51-year-old Mangu Kaha member was found at a Ōtara address and was arrested.
Waikato
A 41-year-old was arrested after police caught him walking around Lynden Court with a white Mongrel Mob shirt yesterday.
His shirt was seized and he is due in the Hamilton District Court on November 28.
Basham said police also issued a summons to a 35-year-old Mongrel Mob member for wearing a cap with insignia through a traffic stop.
Bay of Plenty
Tauranga police issued a summons to a 41-year-old patched Greazy Dog after he was spotted on a motorcycle on SH29.
Police were able to track the man to an Arataki address, where a search produced a patch and helmet.
Basham said a 20-year-old was arrested in Rotorua on Ngongotaha Rd for wearing a shirt with a Mongrel Mob patch as well as possession of “a number of weapons”.
“The T-shirt and weapons were seized, and the man has been charged with displaying gang insignia in public and possession of offensive weapons.”
He was due to appear in the Rotorua District Court today.
Eastern
The first person to be arrested under the new laws was at three minutes after midnight on Southampton St, Hastings. The 51-year-old Napier man was caught with a large Mongrel Mob sign on the dashboard of his car.
He’s been issued a summons to appear in court at a later date and the sign has been confiscated.
Wairoa Police arrested a 27-year-old man who was wearing a Mongrel Mob cap while driving at 11am.
The legislation came into force at midnight on Wednesday and police took action almost immediately, stopping a vehicle displaying gang insignia at 12.03am.
Police say they made “a handful” of arrests and seizures of gang patches and insignia yesterday.
Police have executed a search warrant on the Head Hunters Motorcycle Club gang pad on View Rd in Henderson this morning.
The act bans the display of gang patches in public places and provides extra tools to target gang-related crime and intimidation.
Courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and police will be able to stop criminal gang members from associating and communicating.
Gang members were led out of a gang pad in Henderson, Auckland, this morning during a raid. Photo / Michael Craig
“Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a gang patch you have to have committed violent crime. There are a trail of tears and victims behind each one of those gang patches,” he said in a statement.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham said police would be “actively enforcing any breaches” with a nationally led plan called Operation Nickel.
“If you wear a gang patch in public, or display a sign or symbol associated with a gang, you can expect the attention of police, either at the time of the offence, or at a time that suits us,” he said.
“There will be no excuses. Anyone found in breach of the law can expect the certainty that police will take action.”
Police continue to do outstanding work today in actively enforcing the gang patch ban, including a warrant executed at the Head Hunters West pad - taking the President’s patch and seizing motorcycles.
The message is very clear. Gangs in our country are no longer above the law.
New Gang Disruption Units have been set up across the country to help identify, target and catch priority offenders.
This involves investigating reports of breaches and, when necessary, gathering enough information to carry out search warrants and arrests to retrieve patches or other insignia.
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