Crime busters strike at dawn

By SCOTT MacLEOD and CATHY ARONSON

An undercover detective who infiltrated two crime rings sparked a series of police raids beginning at dawn yesterday in which guns, drugs and stolen goods were seized.

Police claim the raids - with 145 officers taking part - broke the two Waikato crime rings.

The raids began when 12 balaclava-wearing members of the armed offenders squad used ladders to storm the headquarters of the Titans motorcycle gang in Peria Rd, Matamata.

During the next few hours, 60 police searched other homes in the Waikato town.

They charged two men aged 39 and 42 with selling methamphetamine (speed), and a 43-year-old Waharoa man with possessing the drug.

These raids coincided with a major operation by Hamilton police, who by late yesterday had searched 30 houses as far away as Raglan and arrested 25 people on drug and stolen property charges.

They say another 20 arrests are possible by next week.

At least two people were also arrested in Auckland.

Police have yet to fully itemise their haul, but articles seized include 20 rifles and shotguns, vehicle parts, electrical goods, tools and "reasonable quantities" of cannabis, speed and LSD.

Detective Inspector Bruce Scott said an undercover officer had worked in the Waikato from January until the raids started.

He had helped to identify all 45 people being sought by Hamilton police.

"He has made a sterling effort, an excellent job.

"Any situation where an officer is passing himself off as something else in the community is tricky."

Mr Scott said Hamilton police expected to lay up to 130 charges of burglary, receiving stolen goods and dealing in a range of drugs.

He hoped the raids and arrests would bring a dramatic fall in local crime.

Also taking part in the raids were three customs officers with dogs, and Auckland's organised crime squad.

The manager of the Customs Service's drugs and prohibited goods investigations, Phil Chitty, said it was common for his officers to take part in major raids.

In Matamata, Detective Senior Sergeant Graham Matthews said the aim of the raids was to stamp out an alleged speed ring in the town.

One of the crime rings was "a major distributor of methamphetamine in the area, and the problem is a community one."



The Titans are understood to have only six patched members, but many associates.

The gang started in 1984 as the Matamata Motorcycle Club, and changed its name in the early 1990s.

Local residents yesterday described the gang house as an eyesore.

But they said its occupants kept a low profile except for the occasional loud party.

One neighbour said most of the gang members were friendly and approachable.

Her intermediate school-aged son and his friends sometimes visited the house to look at motorcycles.

Another resident said it was about time police hit the gang.

"When is it going to stop? Before the gang came this was a quiet town.

"We don't want any trouble but we do want our town back."