Mystery end to gang pad kidnap charges

The charges have been withdrawn without prejudice, meaning police can still lay charges in the future. Photo / File

Charges laid after a police raid in which a badly injured man was rescued from a Napier gang pad have been withdrawn.

But the charges have been withdrawn without prejudice, meaning police can still lay charges again if they decide to.

The charges, stemming from a Saturday afternoon raid at the headquarters of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Kenny Ave, Ahuriri, five months ago, were withdrawn without explanation and without appearances by any of the trio before Judge Geoff Rea in Napier District Court yesterday.

Seth John Forde, 39, Dyllan John Henderson, now 32, and a 23-year-old man, had been jointly charged with unlawfully detaining a 31-year-old and wounding him with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. They had denied the charges.

When the outcome was offered in court yesterday, counsel said they accepted the Crown decision to withdraw the charges, although lawyer Richard Stone said his client would have preferred to have had the charges "dismissed."

The injured man was found on the afternoon of February 10 during a search of the gang headquarters between Kenny Ave and Battery Rd by police, including the Armed Offenders Squad. Police armed with least one chainsaw were reported to have cut their way into the complex which had high perimeter fencing and security camera at the gate.

The search was later described by police as part of a "fast-moving inquiry," understood to have started after police were told a man was being unlawfully detained.

The man was admitted to hospital with serious injuries as police continued inquiries, which included the arrest of a resident of the headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Outlaws' headquarters for more than 40 years that included a large home thought to be more than a century old, is understood to have been sold to property developers in November last year for $1.26 million.