Attribute to Detective Sergeant Eric Hunter:

Police have dealt a blow to Gisborne gangs after charging three senior patched members of the Mongrel Mob and one of the Mangu Kaha gang.

The arrests follow several investigations into serious offending in the city, and one of the accused has also been charged over alleged attempts to coerce or intimidate a victim and witnesses.

Two arrests relate to the aggravated robbery of a rival gang member, which occurred on 11 May 2024. The victim was assaulted and had his vehicle stolen, and enquiries are ongoing to locate a firearm and knives used by the alleged offenders.

A 29-year-old Gisborne man was taken into custody on 15 May 2024 and charged with aggravated robbery. He appeared at the Gisborne District Court on 16 April where he was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on 5 June.

Enquiries then led to the arrest of a 48-year-old Gisborne man yesterday and he now faces charges of aggravated robbery, failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search and driving while disqualified. He appeared in the Gisborne District Court today and was remanded in custody to appear again on 10 June.

The investigation into the aggravated robbery is ongoing and Police cannot rule out further arrests.

The Mongrel Mob gang faced further disruption when an investigation into serious drug offending led to the arrest of a 55-year-old local man. He was taken into custody on 13 May and charged with possession of a Class A drug for supply, and supplying a Class A controlled drug. Both charges relate to methamphetamine.

The arrest followed an extensive investigation, during which Police intercepted obtained prison phone calls between the man and fellow gang members, leading Police to also lay a charge of attempting to defeat justice. This was with regard to a separate case involving other Mongrel Mob gang members attacking an associate in late 2023.

After appearing in court on 14 May, the man was remanded in custody and will reappear on 10 June 2024.

The fourth arrest was made on May 17, when a 26-year-old man was charged with threatening to kill, threatening to do grievous bodily harm, driving while disqualified and breach of release conditions. He appeared in court on 18 May and was remanded in custody until his next appearance on 10 June 2024.

We hope this provides some comfort to victims and the community. Police have put a significant effort into executing these arrests and the gangs will be feeling the effects of losing some of their top people.

We’ve had a number of committed investigators involved in getting this result.

These arrests will hopefully remind gangs and criminal elements that we will continue to investigate them and that their illegal activity isn’t welcome in our community.

Above all, we want to thank those people who have assisted our enquiries and helped us make our community safer.

Our message to Tairāwhiti remains the same – please keep on reporting illegal or suspicious behaviour – by calling 111 if it’s happening now, or 105 if it’s after the fact. You can also provide information anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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