Drive-by shootings and “targeted assassinations” are becoming more prevalent in the criminalunderworld, with the influence of Australian deportees likely to blame, an internal police report says.
It comes as gangs become more sophisticated in promoting their lifestyle – hiring professional crews to film them on rides and posting flashy videos of themselves online with wads of cash so that they can post them online in an attempt to recruit others.
A police intelligence report obtained by Stuff reveals parts of the country have experienced unprecedented levels of gang violence in the past year, much of which can be attributed to the influence of deportees who have been influential in the establishment of motorcycle clubs like the Mongols and the Comancheros.
In Canterbury gang tensions were at an “all-time high” following the arrival of the Mongols in the region, with fire bombings and drive-by shootings. Police say the current climate is “relatively mild”.
The report, prepared by police’s National Intelligence Centre in early February and released to Stuff under the Official Information Act, was prepared as part of Operation Tauwhiro, a nationwide operation to prevent firearms-related violence by organised crime groups.
The report said the arrival of deportees had played a significant part in increased competition for influence and control in drug markets, over-saturation of the gang environment that was fuelling territory conflict, and the establishment of new organised motorcycle gangs.
The gangs displayed “increased sophistication, and a level of violence not previously seen in New Zealand”, the report said.
The changing landscape had possibly caused an increased perception among those groups about what they saw as a need to own or carry firearms for protection.
Inter-gang conflict had typically been followed by community-based resolution and mediation, the report found.
However, Australian inter-gang hostility had resulted in more of a “tit-for-tat” mentality of escalating violence, before coming to a resolution, the report said.
“This has raised the risk that gang tensions can escalate and spread out into public spaces … certain kinds of attacks appear to be becoming more prevalent than in the past, specifically drive-by shootings and targeted assassinations.”
The report was prepared prior to a shooting at an Auckland hotel, believed to be linked to conflict between members of the Head Hunters and Mongols.
National Organised Crime Group director Detective Superintendent Greg Williams said on Friday there had been multiple incidents of gang-related violence involving firearms around the country recently.
“There is also significant evidence that gangs and organised crime groups possess and use firearms to facilitate drug dealing activities, in acts of retaliation, and to protect themselves from rival gangs..”
Another document from late February said gang friction was “expanding rapidly and there is a lot of inter-gang rivalry” in Canterbury in particular.
The report followed last year’s arrival of the Mongols gang into Christchurch, led by former Hells Angels member Jason Ross.
The main tensions are believed to have been between the Mongols and Tribesmen, which led to fire bombings and drive-by shootings including one incident where a house with children inside was shot at.
The only gang-related shooting in the six-month period examined in the report was in Kaiapoi, involving patched Mongrel Mob Aotearoa member Fairmont Joseph Wiringi, 22, the son of Mongrel Mob Aotearoa president Joseph ‘Junior’ Wiringi in January.
It prompted police to carry out prevention work to “de-escalate tensions” between the respective gangs.
“There has also been a lot of gang activity with firearms or located with firearms, or planning [of] attacks, which we have interceded in,” the report noted.
Detective Inspector Michael Ford said the Mongols’ arrival in Canterbury created friction between “established gangs” in the region.
The current environment appeared to have “calmed down” and was “relatively mild”.
“However, what we do know is this can change overnight and that’s why the police continue to monitor and police these gangs.”
April’s national gang list counted 569 patched or prospective gang members in Canterbury, and 8000 nationwide.
Police are understood to be actively monitoring the region’s gang scene.
The number of gang members wearing their patches in public had noticeably increased. Police documents said the Mongols had likely been the catalyst as they were regularly seen riding in groups with their patches, encouraging other gangs such as the Tribesmen to do the same.
Social media and YouTube had also been used to raise the public profile of gangs.
In January, the Mighty Mongrel Mob Barbarian MC chapter hired a professional film crew equipped with a drone to film them as they travelled the South Island for a national gathering.
“This is all part of their marketing ploy to appeal to new members. It is this presence which is the real concern and has the most adverse effect on the public’s perception of being safe and feeling safe,” the documents said.
