KEY POINTS:
Police would "dearly love" to get their hands on a firearm used in the fatal drive-by shooting of two-year-old Jhia Te Tua in Wanganui last month, Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann said today.
In a breakthrough in the month-old case, two men were today charged in the Wanganui
District Court with the murder of Jhia.
Both men, aged 18 and 20, were granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody until Monday.
Mr Bensemann said the investigation so far had been a hard slog for around 50 officers but, despite the charges today, was still far from over.
"I would estimate we've got another four weeks of inquiry," he said.
"That will include a good hard slog from the investigators, and execution of search warrants."
Jhia died when shots were fired from a passing car at her parents' Puriri Street home, in suburban Gonville on May 5.
Her father was a Black Power member, and police believed a Mongrel Mob member fired the shot which killed Jhia.
Police have identified three cars thought to be in Puriri St when the fatal shooting took place.
Mr Bensemann said today police did believe other people were involved in the murder, and further charges were likely.
However, it was not yet decided what those charges would be, or when they would be laid.
"Others involved in this murder can expect a visit from our inquiry team in the near future."
The two murder accused were arrested over the weekend as a result of information from the public.
Mr Bensemann thanked those who had come forward and appealed for anyone with further information to contact police.
He said police were getting "a low level of co-operation" from Mongrel Mob members.
The inquiry team would "dearly love" to recover the firearm that was used in the fatal shooting.
"There will be people out there with information as to where that firearm is and our team would greatly appreciate it if they came forward."
More than 50 officers from as far away as Invercargill and Auckland have been involved in the hunt for Jhia's killer, and Mr Bensemann said he expected they would remain for at least another three or four weeks.
Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws welcomed the arrest and charging of the two men and thanked the police investigation team.
"Baby Jhia must be a constant reminder to us all that there are no winners in gang conflict and that gangs are an evil influence in our community," he said.
"We need to be both reactive and proactive in dealing with the gangs -- we need to shut them down locally and also stop them recruiting alienated youths who see no future other than the mindless existence of a patched gang member."
- NZPA
