South Auckland shooting: man arrested after explosives found in raid

A man will appear in court after a raid on a south Auckland property uncovered explosives, firearms and ammunition.

The Manukau Counties CIB team investigating the series of shootings in Ōtara two weeks ago made the arrest, which is a person of interest to the investigation, yesterday afternoon.

A 24-year-old man is expected to appear in Manukau District Court today on charges of firing a firearm with reckless disregard for the safety of others, illegal possession of prohibited weapons, ammunition and explosives.

Court documents show the man was charged with having an arsenal that included an AK-47, a Soviet-era SKS semi-automatic rifle, and a semi-automatic M4.

The 24-year-old was also charged with possession of explosive gel and detonating cord.

He was charged with possessing “a large quantity” of .223, .762 and shotgun ammunition.

And the police also alleged that he illegally had 71 shotgun shells and four 22-caliber cartridges.

For an alleged shooting from a vehicle, police charged the man with attempting to cause serious bodily injury by indiscriminately firing a gun at an occupied house.

Police claim that the 24-year-old was performing with other unknown persons at the time.

Detective Inspector Chris Barry said police would like to assure the public that there is zero tolerance for gun violence in our community and that more arrests are anticipated.

The police continued to maintain a high level of presence in Ōtara.

Police said they were grateful for the assistance provided by the community to date and encouraged anyone with information about the shootings or other gang-related activity to contact them at 105 and cite file number 201121/6920 or Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555111.

South Auckland was pushed to the limit last month after five gang-related shootings in two days.

Police confirmed that the shootings that began with three firearm incidents on November 20 were linked to and involved an organized crime group.

Over the weekend there were two more shootings in Ōtara.

It led to an increased police presence in the suburb over the weekend with officers on the streets carrying firearms.

Police arrested an 18-year-old man and charged him with illegal possession of ammunition.

Last week, a police spokesman said there was a team dedicated to investigating the crime and that they were following positive lines of investigation to hold those responsible for the shootings accountable.