Six people connected to the Rebels Motorcycle Club have pleaded not guilty to charges relating to a spate of arson attacks and drug offending and been granted bail.
Last Friday the six men were arrested after search warrants in East Tāmaki, Māngere, Clendon Park, Papakura and Manurewa, targeted members of the Rebels.
The alleged offending is connected to gang tensions between members of the Rebels Motorcycle Club and King Cobras in Auckland, Detective Inspector Aaron Pascoe previously said.
All six appeared via video link at the Manukau District Court on Wednesday in front of Judge Nick Webby, who granted bail on strict conditions and ordered for interim name suppression to continue.
The 34-year-old charged with participating in an organised criminal group and possession of methamphetamine for supply was granted bail on a 24-hour curfew and not to associate with members of the Rebels or King Cobras.
Judge Webby also ordered for him to not possess any electronic device or use any encrypted messaging services.
The five other men, aged between 25 and 39, were also granted bail on strict conditions, including a 7pm to 7am curfew and not to associate with the Rebels or King Cobras.
All six are also not to threaten or be violent to any person or object and not to possess firearms or explosives.
The six were represented by lawyers Greg Bradford and Brad Moyer, who entered not guilty pleas on behalf of all defendants and asked for interim name suppression to continue.
Bail was opposed by the police.
Judge Webby remanded the six to reappear in court on February 25 for a jury trial date to be set down.
In addition to the arsons, further evidence of serious offending was found by police, including possession and supply of methamphetamine, and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, Pascoe previously said.
The Rebels in Auckland have been reinvigorated after the return to the area of a prominent leader, deported from Australia on character grounds as a “501”.
The King Cobras are a prominent, old-school patched gang, founded in Ponsonby, central Auckland, more than 60 years ago.
Pascoe previously said while the investigations into the arson attacks was ongoing, the arrests showed police’s ongoing commitment to stamping out criminal offending by organised crime groups.
“Lives and families are destroyed by methamphetamine, and gangs are at the centre of that destruction.
“All the gangs are interested in are the profits so they can lead an outwardly lavish style, they have no interest in the damage left behind by this drug they continue to peddle.”
