Police searching for evidence after a drive-by shooting in the North Shore suburb of Beach Haven. An alleged drug importer and money launderer was bailed to the targeted address. Photo / David Williams
Police searching for evidence after a drive-by shooting in the North Shore suburb of Beach Haven. An alleged drug importer and money launderer was bailed to the targeted address. Photo / David Williams
The target of a drive-by shooting on the North Shore last week was an alleged drug importer and money launderer with links to an Australian motorcycle gang, the Herald can reveal.
A home and a vehicle on a quiet cul-de-sac in Beach Haven were sprayed with gunfire around6.30am on July 23, with residents describing distinct “popping” sounds and screeching tyres.
No one was hurt during the attack in Rambler Cres, although a tradie claimed he narrowly missed being hit while sitting in a ute struck by multiple bullets.
Drive-by shootings have become almost routine in recent years as rival gangs seek to intimidate one another, with some escalating into tit-for-tat feuds until calmer heads prevail.
Police have yet to arrest anyone in connection to the Beach Haven shooting, although a spokesperson said detectives are “following multiple lines of inquiry”.
But the Herald has learned that the property targeted in the shooting was the bail address for an associate of the Comancheros motorcycle gang. He has since been moved to a different property.
He was arrested in 2022 on serious drug importing and money laundering charges and is due to stand trial in January.
The 33-year-old was identified in Operation Worthington as an alleged client of a Chinese money laundering syndicate, which received at least $10 million in drug money.
The covert investigation ended with 21 people charged with money-laundering and drugs offences, with police also seizing $10 million of assets.
He was living in Australia at the time of the raids but was arrested a year later after stepping off a flight at Auckland Airport.
The alleged drug importer is an associate of the Comancheros; an Australian motorcycle club that established a chapter in New Zealand six years ago when a small, but influential, group were deported as “501s”.
Law enforcement agencies were concerned about the gang’s connections to international organised crime groups, and their predictions soon came true.
Their arrival led to a radical shift within the criminal underworld, with far larger importations of methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as violent conflict between gangs.
Since then, detectives in the National Organised Crime Group have relentlessly targeted the Comancheros in a series of covert investigations into money laundering or large-scale drug offending.
Even though most of their founding members are currently in prison, or deported back to Australia in one case, the “Comos” have kept growing in size and influence.
Most recently, the Comancheros have pulled off an ambitious power play in the Auckland underworld by poaching a senior member of the King Cobras and expanding into their rival’s territory.
While the aggressive expansion will undoubtedly ratchet up tensions in the gang world, the drive-by shooting in Beach Haven is not believed to be an act of retribution by the King Cobras.
Police seized more than $1 million in cash in June 2021 after Operation Worthington investigated a money laundering syndicate. One of the defendants was living in the address targeted in the Beach Haven shooting. Photo/NZ Police
The Herald understands the Comanchero associate has attempted to cut ties with the gang recently, and police are investigating whether this is a motive for the shooting at Rambler Cres.
If confirmed, it would not be the first time the gang has allegedly sent a message to a former ally.
In an unrelated series of shootings in Auckland last year, the innocent family of drug-dealing Comanchero were caught in the crossfire while he was behind bars.
Police said it was “incredibly fortunate” no one was hurt during the shootings at two suburban properties on the same night in August 2023.
One villa in a leafy Epsom street was targeted in a drive-by shooting while a number of people were home, including children.
Bullets struck the home but no one was injured.
In the second attack, at another home in the nearby suburb of Hillsborough about 10 minutes’ drive away, the alleged assailants exited the car and walked up the driveway to the front door.
An occupant of the house, the brother-in-law of the former gangster, answered a knock at the door but was greeted by gunfire.
He narrowly avoided serious injury or death with one bullet grazing his shoulder.
Two men linked to the Comancheros, aged 21 and 24, have been charged with attempted murder, recklessly discharging a firearm, as well as arson of two stolen cars allegedly used to commit the attacks.
Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland and Gangster’s Paradise.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
