Innocent family of former Comanchero gang member caught in crossfire of shootings in Auckland

The family of a drug dealer who left the Comancheros gang has been targeted in two shootings in Auckland.

Innocent relatives of a drug-dealing Comanchero who claimed to have left the motorcycle gang have been left traumatised after they were caught in the crossfire of shootings at their Auckland homes 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.

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.

While the police described the shootings as “gang-related”, the victims are highly qualified medical professionals from a well-respected family with no links to the criminal world.

But their brother was a high-ranking member of the Comancheros until recently.

Khalid Naser Slaimankhel is currently serving six years in prison for methamphetamine and money laundering convictions following Operation Maddale, a covert investigation targeting underworld figures moving drugs through a car dealership in New Lynn.

At the sentencing hearing in the Auckland District Court last year, the 35-year-old claimed he would leave the Comancheros.

After police launched an investigation into the August shootings, Operation Pyrite, two men linked to the Comancheros, aged 21 and 24, were arrested last week.

The pair have been charged with attempted murder for the Hillsborough shooting, recklessly discharging a firearm for the Epsom shooting, as well as arson of two stolen cars allegedly used to commit the attacks.

“It is incredibly fortunate no one was physically injured during either of these incidents,” said Detective Inspector Tom Gollan, of the police National Organised Crime Group.

“The victims were, however, left traumatised and continue to receive support.”

Gollan said the alleged “gang-related incident” was concerning to the wider community, and he did not rule out the possibility of more arrests or charges.

“Police take these matters extremely seriously and will continue their work to hold people to account.”

The sister of Slaimankhel, whose husband was the alleged victim of the attempted murder charge, declined to comment when the Herald visited their Hillsborough home this week.

Slaimankhel was a child when he came to New Zealand with his Afghani family, including his father Dr Hashem Slaimankhel who was a respected community leader.

The elder Slaimankhel later returned to his homeland as a health worker when he was killed by a Taliban suicide bomber blast in 2018.

Khalid Slaimankhel blamed his father’s traumatic death for his own fall from grace into the world of gangs and drugs, defence lawyer Mark Ryan told the Auckland District Court at his client’s sentencing last year.

After imposing a sentence of six years’ imprisonment, Judge Evangelos Thomas turned his attention to Slaimankhel’s supporters in the courtroom.

He encouraged them to keep supporting him after his eventual release from prison, in order to help him leave the Comancheros.

“If people aren’t working hard around him, he’s going to be straight into that [gang] environment,” the judge warned. “This work is really only beginning now.”

Khalid Naser Slaimankhel appears in the High Court at Auckland on an unrelated charge in 2015. Photo / Jason Oxenham

The alleged targeting of Slaimankhel’s family comes after several years of escalating gang violence in New Zealand, which has been largely driven by members of Australian motorcycle gangs deported as “501s”.

Their arrival has radically changed the criminal underworld.

The likes of the Comancheros and Mongols, while having fewer members, had no fear and little respect for the longstanding motorcycle clubs in New Zealand like the Head Hunters.

To rub salt into the wound, the Australian gangs - with their deep pockets and even deeper international connections - were recruiting hard from other gangs into their ranks.

Their arrival challenged the established pecking order, leading to both an escalation in gang membership - as everyone recruited to bolster their numbers - and the inevitable conflict.

In particular, the Mongols were involved in shooting of rival gang houses in Tauranga as well as an ongoing feud with the Head Hunters in Auckland.

Both the Comancheros and the Rebels, another Australian gang, have also been involved in tit-for-tat stoushes with other gangs where shootings and firebombings are commonplace.

A stretched police force has been forced to dedicate significant resources to investigating these crimes, and gangs were also a topic of debate during the recent election.

After being slow to react, the previous Labour government passed legislation to give police new powers during gang conflict and target unexplained wealth of gang leaders.

The new National-led coalition Government has promised to crack down even harder with anti-gang laws, such as patch bans, within the first 100 days of taking office.

Jared Savage is an award-winning journalist who covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006, and is 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.