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Kavinda Herath / Things
A large group of Mongrel Mob members are in Southland on Wednesday, and these three ride to Invercargill after visiting Bluff in the morning.
A large group of Mongrel Mob members, who are being monitored by the police as they travel through the South Island, have descended on Southland.
Stuff understands that they plan to attend the birthday parties of three members of the mafia in Mataura, where they have been arriving in recent days.
Some have been traveling while in the south, and more than 20 traveled to Invercargill and Bluff on Wednesday while being followed by police.
The presence of the mafia in the small municipality of Mataura, which has its own chapter of the gang, has upset and disappointed the mayor of the Gore district.
“It’s something that Mataura doesn’t need,” said Mayor Tracy Hicks.
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“It just brings anxiety to our community and we can do without it.
“I just hope everyone is good.”
Kavinda Herath / Things
More than 20 members of the Mongrel Mob were in Bluff on Wednesday.
Hicks said he had had several conversations with the police in recent days and had received assurances that the police were closely monitoring the proceedings.
Police had restrictions on what they could do when members of the mob were not breaking the law, Hicks said.
Mafia members from across the country had been in Christchurch over the weekend for a hui, where one allegedly attacked a member of the public, with some later traveling to Queenstown and then Mataura.
Others traveled directly to Mataura from Christchurch, as Stuff knows.
Robyn Edie / Stuff
Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks.
Hicks said there had been a Mongrel Mob presence in Mataura for most of the 30 years, but that it had grown significantly in recent times.
“For a long time, everyone knew the local people, but now there are many new faces.”
The mob members’ invasion of Mataura coincides with townspeople receiving the good news that tons of flammable premix stored in an old town warehouse would be moved to Tiwai Point.
A lot of good things were happening in the municipality and the mixed race mafia that descended on the city was “useless to say the least.”
Kavinda Herath / Things
Members of the Mongrel Mob posed for a photo while in Bluff on Wednesday.
A police spokeswoman said Southland Police had additional resources in the area in the event of any incident.
So far there have been no problems, he said.
“We understand that they are currently in Mataura where they will spend a couple of days before moving on.”
