Two men arrested following raid on gang house

Two men have been arrested following a raid on a Rebels Gang house in Aranui, Christchurch on Wednesday.

Canterbury Police discovered a cut down shotgun and a .22 rifle during the search of the house in Aranui.

Two members of the Rebels MC were located at the address.

One of them, a 22 year-old man, has been charged with possession of drug utensils and unlawful possession of firearms as a result of the search.

During another search on the same day at a Fitzgerald Ave house police uncovered a sophisticated indoor cannabis growing facility.

A 56 year-old man is facing charges relating to the cultivation of cannabis and also possession of a restricted weapon as a result of that search.

District Prevention Manager, Inspector Corrie Parnell said the Offender Taskforce, which was established at the beginning of March 2016, was focussed on curbing the activities of gangs.

“We will be relentless in our hard line on any organised criminal group.

In order to make the streets and homes safe we need to rid Canterbury of illegal firearms and drugs,” he said.

“The remains of the Rebels furnishings from the former gang pad in Vagues Road, was confined to one room in the house, clearly it is a temporary base”.

Inspector Parnell said the supply of drugs was a significant driver of other crimes, such as burglary and car theft with people trying to finance their drug use.

“Increasingly we are discovering firearms and other weapons at these addresses and that is extremely concerning,” he said.

Since March the Canterbury Offender Taskforce has executed 175 search warrants and recovered 87 illegal firearms.

Assets worth $5 million have also been restrained. “We will continue to target any crime committed by Gangs”

The Offender Taskforce has also made more than 1000 “prevention referrals”, which are referrals to other agencies to assist families and children exposed to drug use and other family harm.

ENDS

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