Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • 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

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

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

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

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 / Hawkes Bay Today

Police minister's warning for white-collar Hawke's Bay gangsters

By Sahiban Hyde
Hawkes Bay Today·
20 May, 2020 03:34 AM2 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

Assets seized in the raid include a house, vehicles and motorbikes, and about $400,000 in cash. Photo / Supplied

Assets seized in the raid include a house, vehicles and motorbikes, and about $400,000 in cash. Photo / Supplied

Police minister Stuart Nash has hailed a major drug bust of a Mongrel Mob Riders chapter in Hawke's Bay, saying a crackdown with extra police officers is working.

On Tuesday police seized approximately $1 million in assets, and arrested 16 people, a majority of whom were patched members of the Mongrel Mob or associates.

They found methamphetamine, cash, cannabis and 10 firearms. Assets seized included vehicles and motorbikes, as well as approximately $400,000 in cash and a house.

Nash said the crackdown on gangs, drugs, and illegal firearms showed the value of a specialist unit to target them.

"Busting these organised crime networks takes hard slog by police, and months of investigative work to ensure the charges can stand up in court."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He also had a stark warning for white-collar professionals in the region who "operated in the shadows behind the highly visible patched gang members".

"People in professional positions, both locally and offshore, are often the brains behind drug-dealing networks," he said.

"Other professionals are engaged in money-laundering which enables gangs to run criminal enterprises behind a business facade.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Whether you wear a gang patch or a shirt and tie, you will face the consequences of your offending.

"The gangs and the business professionals who organise the drug trade are a scourge on our neighbourhoods. They even tried to poison our communities during the lockdown."

Most of those arrested on Tuesday ranged in age from 18 to 46. They appeared in Hastings District Court on Wednesday, facing drug and firearms charges, and many were remanded in custody.

Those in custody included the leader of a Hawke's Bay Mongrel Mob chapter.

Detective Inspector Mike Foster said the operation was a culmination of an ongoing operation by the Organised Crime Unit into the sale of methamphetamine and cannabis throughout Hawke's Bay.

Nash said he had a "huge" appreciation for police who worked tirelessly to hold offenders to account.

"I also want to thank everyone in the community who is prepared to step forward to report suspicious activity with gangs and firearms and drugs. It does help."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Wairoa: Nine tries in muddy Mahia Barry Cup defence

Hawkes Bay Today

Teen killer escaped custody by fleeing Hastings Health Centre with cast on arm

Hawkes Bay Today

Police hunt for teen killer with quashed murder conviction, warn not to approach


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Premium
Wairoa: Nine tries in muddy Mahia Barry Cup defence
Hawkes Bay Today

Wairoa: Nine tries in muddy Mahia Barry Cup defence

Matakoa came down from Te Araroa, scored the first try, and then the locals took over.

20 Jul 11:58 PM
Teen killer escaped custody by fleeing Hastings Health Centre with cast on arm
Hawkes Bay Today

Teen killer escaped custody by fleeing Hastings Health Centre with cast on arm

20 Jul 10:57 PM
Police hunt for teen killer with quashed murder conviction, warn not to approach
Hawkes Bay Today

Police hunt for teen killer with quashed murder conviction, warn not to approach

20 Jul 03:57 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
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP