Police have descended on a house linked to the Tribesman gang amid rising gang tensions in the city, and ahead of a rival’s patching ceremony planned for the weekend.
The Friday afternoon raid at a property in Lancaster Rd, Beach Haven, on Auckland’s North Shore, comes after shootings stemming from a feud between two other gangs, the Head Hunters and the Mongols.
Witnesses saw a man understood to be a patched member of the Tribesman outlaw motorcycle club sitting on a chair surrounded by officers on the lawn of the Kainga Ora property on Friday.
Police confirmed they searched an address on Lancaster Rd on Friday but could not provide further details for operational reasons.
Meanwhile, it is understood another gang, the Killer Beez, has a patching ceremony planned for the following day in an inner Auckland suburb.
The Killer Beez were a feeder gang for the Tribesmen, but relations have worsened between the groups in recent years.
In April 2019, Tribesmen member Akustino Tae shot Killer Beez president Josh Masters at an Auckland Harley Davidson dealership in April 2019.
Later the following year, tensions boiled over between the groups in south Auckland, with a spate of shootings in Ōtara over control of territory.
The gang members moved into the social housing flats in Lancaster Rd, Beach Haven, early in 2020.
Residents soon began reporting problems with crime, noise and intimidation.
One young family has sold up and is moving out due to the ongoing issues with the new neighbours.
Things quietened down in November after police impounded several motorcycles belonging to Lancaster Rd residents following a huge funeral procession on the North Shore for a Tribesmen gang member killed in a crash.
