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Armed police who searched the headquarters of the South Island international motorcycle gang, the Mongols MC, made an arrest and recovered cash, a stolen vehicle and a loaded gun.
Dozens of police officers, including members of the National Organized Crime Group (NOCG), raided The Old Sawmill in Burnham, outside Christchurch, and the local president’s home in Rolleston, around 7 a.m.Monday.
They recovered $ 6,000 in cash, a stolen vehicle, and a loaded 22-caliber semi-automatic firearm.
Police arrested one person for breach of bond. The 45-year-old man will appear in Christchurch District Court on Monday.
“The search warrants were directed at a core group that was allegedly involved in the importation, distribution and manufacture of illicit drugs throughout Christchurch,” said Detective Inspector Julian Rinckes.
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Further searches and arrests cannot be ruled out, he said.
Pavers Direct Limited is on the Burnham property, and police could be seen searching the business on Monday.
The company’s director, Matthew Bateman, declined to comment on why the business was raided and his relationship with the Mongols when contacted by Things.
The Mongols, led by National President Jim Thacker, established a chapter in the Bay of Plenty last year.
Staff Photographer / Stuff
The old sawmill at Burnham is being used as an MC platform for the Mongols.
The gang expanded to the South Island earlier this year, creating tension between rival groups, particularly the Tribesmen MC, who were considered the dominant player in the region’s underworld at the time.
In separate attacks in February, believed to have targeted Mongols, a tattoo parlor and a hair salon were struck by vehicles in Christchurch. The barbershop, which has no apparent link to the gang other than through a man who used to associate with the local president, was also bombed.
The same month, the Mongol headquarters in Burnham was shot by someone wielding a high-caliber rifle.
Staff Photographer / Stuff
Pavers Direct Ltd director Matthew Bateman declined to comment on why the police raided the business Monday afternoon.
Police raided the property several days later and found 10 weapons, military-style semiautomatic, shotguns and a pistol, some of which were hidden in the walls and ceiling, along with dozens of bullets, $ 50,000 in cash and methamphetamine.
Another raid in May revealed drugs, firearms and stolen property.
Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said Things In May, the police were recruiting seven staff members, including five detectives, for the NOCG, the first on the South Island. It is based in Christchurch and reports to the National Police Headquarters.
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Savage, which opens in theaters on September 10, tells the story of the formation and life of New Zealand gangs.
There are similar units in Auckland, Wellington and Tauranga. Its only objective is to attack organized crime.
The group also supports existing organized crime teams in each of the South Island’s three police districts: Canterbury, Tasman and Southern.
Thacker, 28, a former president of a Bandidos chapter in Queensland, is among hundreds of hardened criminals, known as 501s, deported to New Zealand since the 2014 changes to Australian immigration law.
Things
Police seized 10 firearms, ammunition, around $ 50,000 in cash and methamphetamine from a Mongols MC property in Burnham in February.
The arrival of the 501s, named after the character section in which their visas were canceled, has radically changed the landscape of New Zealand gangs.
New groups have been established, notably the Comanchero MC and the Mongols, and according to police data, gang affiliation increased nearly 50 percent in the four years through June of last year.
At the end of August last year, the national gang registry had the names of 71 of the 501.
Iain McGregor / Stuff
Bristol Barbers in Wainoni caught fire for the first time on February 14.
Police previously said that many of the deported gang members were powerful and influential figures in the Australian underworld who brought with them professionalism, a striking new image and significant international connections.
The Mongol gang took a major hit in June this year when police searched 18 properties over two days in Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. The entire upper echelon of the motorcycle gang was arrested and 13 firearms were seized, including three loaded AK47s (Soviet-designed assault rifles) and two military-style semi-automatic firearms.
Other items seized in the raids included Molotov cocktails (glass bottles with flammable substances), a homemade bomb, drugs and cash.
