Police will attend Northland tangi of gang member

A scene examination at Mower Rd in relation to the death of John Harris has been completed. PHOTO/NZME

There will be a police presence at the funeral of gang member John Henry Harris as he is laid to rest in rural Northland today. The 37-year-old Tribesmen member died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was dropped off at the St John station on Western Hills Drive in Whangarei in a critical condition on Tuesday morning.

The weapon used in the shooting has not been found.

Detective Inspector Kevin Burke said there would be officers attending the tangi with the permission of the family.

"As with any homicide or suspicious death investigation police would normally have a presence at the tangi," Mr Burke said.

Additional police staff had been sent to Northland to help with the investigation and the tangi coincided with Labour Weekend when there was traditionally more police on duty in Northland.

Traffic police numbers have been boosted and will be patrolling the regions highways during the long weekend.

Police are expecting a large number of gang members from across the North Island to attend the tangi at Rahiri, 13 kilometres northwest of Okaihau.

Scene examinations by forensic experts at Mower Rd, north of Whangarei, and Hassard St, in the central city, have been completed.

Mr Burke said the call for the public to report sightings of two vehicles linked to the fatal shooting had yielded useful information.

Police released security camera pictures of the vehicles. One was a red 2007 Holden Commodore, registration JCS248, that police believe was towed from an address on Hassard St in the early hours Tuesday. There have been no arrests so far.

Mr Harris' death is one of at least three being investigated in Northland involving gang members.

A team continues to compile evidence in relation to the death of 48-year-old Kimble Moore, a patched member of the Tribesmen Motorcycle Club. His body was found by police six months after he was reported missing. No one has been charged with his death.

Another team is working on the murder of 25-year-old Moses Mahanga, a Head Hunters gang member, who died of a gunshot wound while in a parked car in Otangarei on October 4. No arrests have been made in the case.