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

Comancheros’ Harley-Davidson motorcycles worth $100,000 crushed by police under new laws

NZ Herald
24 Feb, 2024 08:53 PM2 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

Gang members' motorcycles destroyed following court order. Video / NZ Police

Gold-plated Harley-Davidson motorbikes seized from the Comanchero Motorcycle Gang have been crushed by New Zealand Police and turned into scrap metal.

The six distinctive bikes were among $4m in assets seized from the gang in 2019 as part of Operation Nova.

Police said a court approved the destruction of the motorbikes and seven personalised licence plates under new laws targeting organised crime, passed last year.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said it was the first time police had sought such a court order.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Police Minister Mark Mitchell watch as the Comanchero bikes are scrapped.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Police Minister Mark Mitchell watch as the Comanchero bikes are scrapped.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was a different approach to previous seizures in which assets were resold and the proceeds used to fight organised crime and drug-related harm.

“It is our view that the design of the motorcycles, and the personalised plates, are very distinctive and are exclusively linked to the Comancheros,” Coster said.

“It is highly likely both the bikes and licence plates would end up back in the hands of the Comancheros.

“It would defeat the purpose of the action Police have taken in this investigation.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
The distinctive motorbikes were destroyed after being seized in 2019.
The distinctive motorbikes were destroyed after being seized in 2019.

He added: “It will be of some reassurance to Police and the public that this decision means these bikes, purchased with the proceeds of crime, will not end up back in the wrong hands.”

The bikes were seized in April 2019 as part of a major police operation which targeted senior leadership figures in the gang.

“It is part of an ongoing focus by Police on disrupting the illegal activities of organised criminal groups, along with targeting assets they have obtained through their offending,” Coster said.

In all, 18 people were charged through the Operation Nova operation, with charges including participation in an organised crime group and importation of methamphetamine. A former secretary of the Comancheros was deported to Australia this month.

Along with the motorcycles - worth around $100,000 - police seized $400,000 in cash, four Range Rovers, a Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz and Audi vehicles, and designer products and jewellery.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Police Minister Mark Mitchell watch as the Comanchero motorbikes get scrapped.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Police Minister Mark Mitchell watch as the Comanchero motorbikes get scrapped.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

'It is unacceptable': Decorated NZ soldier lies in unmarked grave

Bay of Plenty Times

No ‘alarm bells’ about Malachi before his death, daycare says

Bay of Plenty Times

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'It is unacceptable': Decorated NZ soldier lies in unmarked grave
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

'It is unacceptable': Decorated NZ soldier lies in unmarked grave

Veterans’ advocate Gavin Nicol is seeking funds to memorialise Capt Angus Smith’s grave.

17 Jul 03:00 AM
No ‘alarm bells’ about Malachi before his death, daycare says
Bay of Plenty Times

No ‘alarm bells’ about Malachi before his death, daycare says

17 Jul 02:32 AM
Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury
Bay of Plenty Times

Te Puke incident: Person airlifted after serious injury

17 Jul 02:26 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