“Thank goodness the FBI is cracking down on New Zealand gangs since our Government has gone soft on them,” says ACT’s Justice spokesperson Nicole McKee.

"It took a major international operation to lead to 25 arrests and 900 charges. Operation Trojan Shield was led by the FBI and co-ordinated with the DEA, AFP and Europol and other law enforcement agencies.

“ACT congratulates the New Zealand Police and Customs for working with international agencies and acting on this information.

“The question is, why does it take major international law enforcement agencies to lead to the arrests of a couple of dozen New Zealand gangsters?

“Gang numbers have increased by 50 percent since 2017, from 5343 to 8006. Instead of doing something, Ministers are playing nice with the gangs.

“ACT would hit the gangs where it hurts, in their pockets. Our policy increases the power of police to seize assets connected with gang activity and illegal firearms owned by gang members by introducing a new threshold for Police to seize assets. The threshold to seize assets would now be triggered if a gang member was found with an illegal firearm therefore committing an offence.

“If we don’t stand up to the gangs now, it’s only a matter of time before an innocent member of the public gets caught in the crossfire.”'

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