CHRISTCHURCH - Police who are hunting the killer of 20-year-old Lisa Blakie have raided a gang clubhouse in the Christchurch suburb of Hillsborough, where they believe Ms Blakie stayed before she was murdered.
A team of about 15 police and forensic specialists entered the fortified Port Hills Rd property of the Devil's Henchmen gang early yesterday.
Operation Porta spokesman Detective Senior Sergeant Peter Read said the team would carry out a full forensic examination of the property, and would interview people associated with the house.
His team wants to confirm if Ms Blakie had been at the gang property between February 2 and February 6, the day her body was found in the Porters Pass area of western Canterbury.
Ms Blakie, of Timaru, was known to have gang associations and links to the sex industry.
Set well back from the roadway and flanked by a truck stop fast-food takeaway bar and a conference venue, the gang property is surrounded by 2m corrugated iron fencing.
Neighbours, who did not wish to be named, said the gang members "kept themselves to themselves" but were polite and had caused no problems.
"There's a far worse bunch of people than them out there," said one neighbour who has had a business in the area for 12 years.
Neighbours said the property appeared to be used only as a clubhouse. They knew of no one living there permanently.
However, Detective Senior Sergeant Read said police had spoken to people who were at the house when officers arrived early yesterday morning. They were helping police with their inquiries.
"Obviously we've had information that has led us to the address in the belief Lisa Blakie was there between the 2nd and 6th of February," he said.
"The purpose of our examination is to confirm that information."
Ms Blakie disappeared on February 2 while hitchhiking from Christchurch to visit friends in Greymouth. Tourists looking for a fishing spot found her fully clothed body in the Porter River, near Castle Hill, four days later.
Police believe Ms Blakie was murdered late in the evening of February 5 and say the key to solving the four-month homicide inquiry is tracing her movements over the three days from February 2.
Detective Senior Sergeant Read said the police had spoken to the occupants of the gang house and they had been co-operative. Police would also trace and interview people who had "associations with the address."
He said no arrest was imminent and an analysis of anything from the house "could be several weeks away."
- NZPA
Murder inquiry focuses on gang house
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