NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • 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 / New Zealand

Covid 19 coronavirus: Hamilton runaways fled authorities after attending funeral of Mongrel Mob member

By Belinda Feek
Reporter·NZ Herald·
17 Jun, 2020 07:55 PM5 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

Deiderick John Grant, known as 'DJ', was farewelled at the Waikato Mongrel Mob headquarters in Hamilton last week.

Deiderick John Grant, known as 'DJ', was farewelled at the Waikato Mongrel Mob headquarters in Hamilton last week.

Two people who fled from authorities, breaching their Covid-19 quarantine restrictions, had been granted special exemption to attend the funeral of a Mongrel Mob relative in Hamilton.

The Herald understands the pair, aged 8 and 19, flew with four other family members, including their mother, from Melbourne, before being granted an exemption to attend the tangi of slain gang member Deiderick John Grant, known as DJ Rogue.

The 57-year-old was killed at a Slim St, Bader, property on June 5.

The family are believed to have flown to New Zealand to be with their whānau the following day.

The pair were given strict instructions to follow as part of their compassionate exemption, including to remain in their vehicle on the journey to Hamilton - and to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) if they got out. They are also understood to have been told to stay in the vehicle during the tangi.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They were then required, with their other family members, to return to the quarantine hotel, the Pullman, in Auckland afterwards.

Instead, the pair fled.

And last night former police commissioner Mike Bush claimed six members of the Australian family had absconded, though five were now back in isolation at the hotel.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Deiderick John Grant, known as 'DJ', was farewelled at the Waikato Mongrel Mob headquarters in Hamilton last week.
Deiderick John Grant, known as 'DJ', was farewelled at the Waikato Mongrel Mob headquarters in Hamilton last week.

When questioned by the Herald last night, the Ministry of Health revealed the two youngsters had now tested negative.

"The six members were staying at the Pullman Auckland in managed isolation and were granted exemption on compassionate grounds to attend the tangi and return to the facility on the same day.

"Four members of the family returned. A teenager and a child did not. The child was returned to the hotel managed isolation and quarantine facility in Auckland.

"The teenager remains in self-isolation at a family property. The teenager in self-isolation in Hamilton has had a Covid-19 test and tested negative.

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

Covid-19 cases' story of uninterrupted trip 'not accurate' - MP claims

17 Jun 03:19 AM
New Zealand

The hunt for 320: Why so many - and how we'll get them

17 Jun 06:49 PM
Opinion

Heather Du Plessis-Allan: Health Ministry bungled its own rules

17 Jun 04:00 AM
Business

Top officials grilled over NZ's border and Covid-19 response

17 Jun 04:40 AM

"The five family members' request to join the teenager has been declined and they will complete their isolation at the managed isolation and quarantine facility in Auckland."

Strict border controls remain in place, with all arrivals going through health screening, getting tested for the virus and being forced to spend 14 days in quarantine or isolation.

Only travellers who have virus symptoms are placed in quarantine, whereas those who do not have symptoms go to an approved managed isolation facility.

People who are in quarantine after arriving in the country from overseas cannot attend a funeral or tangi.

A source has spoken to the Herald out of frustration as just days after the incident in Hamilton, two infected women who had landed in New Zealand from Britain were able to leave their quarantine hotel in Auckland and drive to Wellington on Saturday.

They were not tested before they left.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said yesterday that the pair did everything that was asked of them, including driving the 640km route between the two cities without stopping.

The source felt the ministry wasn't doing enough to protect the country, despite the hard work put in by Kiwis over the past three months including the strict lockdown.

"This thing with the [boys] happened before the women and I think that the people in charge have not learned from the first mistake.

"I'm just really, really worried about what's going on and I think the public need to know what's going on."

The person said the family came over from Melbourne to attend Grant's funeral.

"As soon as these kids have left the isolation centre, with their mother who was also part of the set up, they've just gapped it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They've breached all of the conditions of their agreement that was set up and just disappeared."

The condition for the mourners to stay in their vehicle at the tangi was "never going to happen", the person said.

"It was just ridiculous."

Hundreds of mourners from all around the North Island were believed to have attended Grant's tangi last week.

The source said the boys, and the rest of their family, mingled with them all.

"The ridiculous thing about the Mongrel Mob funeral in Hamilton ... you could see how many hundreds of people there were there ... these boys who essentially just came in the country from Melbourne were mingling all in amongst those people."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Another condition of being granted an exemption is to provide two addresses of where they would be staying. One would be a back-up.

The source claimed the first address provided to authorities was fake, while their back-up address was Slim St, the property where Grant was killed.

It led him to believe that the addresses provided by visitors were not being verified before their exemptions were granted.

"If that's the security we're providing ... it's just an absolute joke. They should be asking, 'what is the risk here?'"

He said asking families to wear PPE at all times was also "completely impossible" and said the ministry needed to up its game to protect New Zealanders.

"This is the thing, there's how many billions of dollars that's going to be spent, how long it is it going to take for the country to get back on track? How many people have lost their jobs? There's people who have committed suicide.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's crazy, and yet I'm guessing it's the Ministry of Health, as they're the lead agency, are prepared to throw it all away for these guys to come over for a Mongrel Mob tangi?

"It actually frightens me about how incompetent these people are."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Watch: Black Power gang members farewell Selwyn Robson with stirring haka

12 May 08:38 AM
New Zealand

Black Power members perform a farewell haka for Manurewa homicide victim Selwyn Robson.

Politics

Govt earmarks $100m for students underachieving in maths, new ‘maths intervention’ teachers

12 May 07:30 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Watch: Black Power gang members farewell Selwyn Robson with stirring haka

Watch: Black Power gang members farewell Selwyn Robson with stirring haka

12 May 08:38 AM

Members were seen performing a haka as pallbearers carried his coffin into the clubhouse.

Black Power members perform a farewell haka for Manurewa homicide victim Selwyn Robson.

Black Power members perform a farewell haka for Manurewa homicide victim Selwyn Robson.

Govt earmarks $100m for students underachieving in maths, new ‘maths intervention’ teachers

Govt earmarks $100m for students underachieving in maths, new ‘maths intervention’ teachers

12 May 07:30 AM
Abuse in state care: PM defends broken promise, emotional Hipkins slams Govt ‘injustice’

Abuse in state care: PM defends broken promise, emotional Hipkins slams Govt ‘injustice’

12 May 07:26 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • 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