Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty men with Head Hunter gang links admit large-scale drug offending

Sandra Conchie
By Sandra Conchie
Multimedia Journalist, Bay of Plenty Times·Bay of Plenty Times·
26 Oct, 2018 09:32 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Joshua Petersen, Mark Morgan and Daytona Ranui pleaded guilty to a raft of drug charges in the Tauranga District Court this week. Photo/File
Joshua Petersen, Mark Morgan and Daytona Ranui pleaded guilty to a raft of drug charges in the Tauranga District Court this week. Photo/File

Joshua Petersen, Mark Morgan and Daytona Ranui pleaded guilty to a raft of drug charges in the Tauranga District Court this week. Photo/File

Two Head Hunter gang prospects and their associate have admitted dealing substantial amounts of drugs following an 18-month undercover operation by Bay of Plenty police.

Mark Tane Morgan, 31, Joshua Petersen, 27, and Dayton Bryon Ranui, 27, pleaded guilty to a raft of drug charges in the Tauranga High Court on Wednesday.

Morgan, Petersen and Ranui pleaded guilty to a charge of participating in an organised criminal group to obtain material benefits from offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Morgan also pleaded guilty to a charge that he conspired with Petersen and Ranui to deal ephedrine and a further single charge of supplying 56g of methamphetamine.

Petersen also admitted supplying 691.8g of P, possessing not less than 2kg of the drug and 24.7g of cocaine, both for supply.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Peterson and Ranui jointly admitted unlawfully possessing a 9mm Walther Pal K1 pistol.

Ranui also admitted charges of supplying at least 84g of methamphetamine and having a further 1148g of the same drug in his possession for supply.

The offences were committed between May 1, 2015, and December 20, 2016, in Tauranga and elsewhere in New Zealand.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Crown's summary of facts revealed the charges stemmed from an 18-month undercover police covert operation code-named Operation Centurion.

Operation Centurion was centred around the Head Hunter motorcycle gang and its alleged involvement in the supply of methamphetamine in the Bay of Plenty.

The Crown said during the inquiry, one of the gang's associates, Joshua Petersen, was directly involved in the supply of at least 691g of P to at least nine people within the Bay of Plenty.

Those people then on-sold the drugs.

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

Kawerau drug raids accused back in court

31 Aug 06:18 AM
New Zealand

Tauranga murder accused also charged with drug dealing

03 Oct 01:11 AM

Bay police win prestigious national award

18 Oct 04:30 AM
New Zealand|crime

Bungled drugs trip brings nine-year jail term

18 Oct 11:51 PM

Petersen used a family-owned industrial shed on the outskirts of Ōpōtiki as a base for his drug-dealing, the Crown summary said.

During searches of the shed, police found firearms, ammunition and bulk amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine.

At one point during the inquiry, police tracked Petersen's vehicle and found a bucket containing about $224,000 cash hidden in the undergrowth near his Ōpōtiki home.

Petersen also sought wholesale quantities of ephedrine.

The role of Mark Morgan, a Head Hunter prospect, was that of the "front man", responsible for the delivery of methamphetamine to wholesale customers.

Ranui, another Head Hunter prospect, had responsibilities including counting the money, and the safe storage of the cash, firearms and illegal commodities, the Crown said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ranui had at least four locations in the Tauranga area he used for this purpose.

Justice Matthew Downs, who remanded Morgan, Ranui and Petersen for sentencing in the Tauranga High Court on December 11, said prison sentences were "inevitable".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

$1m buyers crazy for Hare Krishna barn with cars in the lounge - 'my busiest open home in three years'

Bay of Plenty Times

'Sustained period of cruelty': Starship doctor slates child protection agency failings

Bay of Plenty Times

Mighty ponga trees save driver as car plunges towards stream


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

'It really is hard': Why older jobseekers are struggling in NZ's current market
New Zealand

'It really is hard': Why older jobseekers are struggling in NZ's current market

'I was going through a lot': Security guard who assaulted Uber driver keeps licence
New Zealand

'I was going through a lot': Security guard who assaulted Uber driver keeps licence

'Twister': Man's quick action saves elderly camper in Northland storm
New Zealand

'Twister': Man's quick action saves elderly camper in Northland storm

'It's all on the line': Boxing legends prepare for final bout
Boxing

'It's all on the line': Boxing legends prepare for final bout

'My partner just got shot': Woman describes fatal gang shooting
New Zealand

'My partner just got shot': Woman describes fatal gang shooting

Three dead in Waiuku crash after vehicle leaves road, ends up in water
New Zealand

Three dead in Waiuku crash after vehicle leaves road, ends up in water



Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

$1m buyers crazy for Hare Krishna barn with cars in the lounge - 'my busiest open home in three years'
Bay of Plenty Times

$1m buyers crazy for Hare Krishna barn with cars in the lounge - 'my busiest open home in three years'

Stunning Bay of Plenty home used to be a Hare Krishna workshop.

15 Jul 08:10 AM
'Sustained period of cruelty': Starship doctor slates child protection agency failings
Bay of Plenty Times

'Sustained period of cruelty': Starship doctor slates child protection agency failings

15 Jul 06:00 AM
Mighty ponga trees save driver as car plunges towards stream
Bay of Plenty Times

Mighty ponga trees save driver as car plunges towards stream

15 Jul 05:23 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search