Man arrested over murder of gang member

Police check a Mercedes in St Johns staff car park in October where John Harris died after being taken in a critical condition to the Whangarei ambulance station on Western Hills Dr.

Northland Police arrested a 54-year-old man this morning in relation to Operation Bolt, the investigation into the alleged murder of John Henry Harris in October 2016.

The man who has been at large was arrested in Tinopai and will appear in the Whangarei District Court tomorrow.

Police are unable to name the man until he has appeared in court, but it's understood that he is Walter Ngaau, the senior Black Power gang member from Whangarei who police had been seeking in relation to the murder investigation.

Police said they are very pleased to make this arrest.

''We appreciate the assistance provided by the public. The 54-year-old man was located this morning during an operation where police carried out simultaneous search warrants in Tinopai, where methamphetamine chemicals and equipment were located, and in Dargaville where a methamphetamine lab was in operation,'' police said in a statement.

Two arrests have been made in relation to those matters.

Mr Harris, also known as John Boy, from Horeke, was driven by two men to the St John Ambulance with a gunshot wound to his chest on October 18, 2016.

He was loaded into an ambulance but died at the station about 6.40am. The death prompted a large police operation as the ambulance station on Western Hills Drive was cordoned off.

Nicky Bryan Dodd, 41, from Raumanga, was arrested last month and charged with one charge of murder in relation to Mr Harris' death. Dodd also faces two charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, two of unlawfully carrying a firearm, and one of perverting the course of justice.