Mongols trial; Key Crown witness talks of drug exchanges and van to 'get rid of someone'

Weapons found after police executed search warrants for Operation Silk. Photo / NZ Police

A key Crown witness in a gang trial has spoken of doing drug exchanges, stacks of cash, flash vehicles, a van used for "getting rid of someone", as well as a man dubbed "Two Times", as he says everything twice.

The witness, who has name suppression, is giving evidence to a jury in the High Court at Hamilton today via audio-visual link.

Nine Mongols members, including president Jim Thacker – known as "JD", "Jack Daniels", or "the Cap", is alleged to have had overarching control of its drug dealing operation – and vice president Hone Ronaki are defending 118 charges related to drug dealing and supply, firearms, aggravated robbery, and money laundering.

The other defendants are the South Island president Jason Ross, 46, sergeant at arms Leon "the Wolf" Huritu, 39, Kelly Petrowski, 28, Matthew Ramsden, 45, Kane Ronaki, 24, Te Reneti Tarau, 26, and a 28-year-old man with interim name suppression.

The accused are either "office holders", members, or associates of the Mongols from around the country, including Hawke's Bay, Christchurch and Auckland.

The Crown alleges they were responsible for the commercial supply of drugs throughout New Zealand and were involved in "tit-for-tat" shootings with rival gangs, including one in Tauranga, where Mongols members fired 96 rounds of ammunition at a house where children were present.

A car blasted with bullet holes parked at a Haukore St, Hairini, home after an incident allegedly involving members of the Mongols gang. Photo / Sandra Conchie

The gang allegedly obtained, distributed, and broke down quantities of drugs and sold them for profit. They used the firearms to service that drug trade, Pollett said.

"They were regularly in possession of firearms and they weren't afraid to use them to ensure the rival gangs in the Bay of Plenty knew they were in town and knew they were here to stay."

When the witness first became involved in the gang, in early 2019, the accused were members of the Bandidos gang.

The witness said he "distinctively" recalled meeting Hone Ronaki because he "took half of my bag of weed" after meeting at a house.

"After that initial meeting he came around home a bit more."

However, it was a few months later, about May or June 2019, when he met Thacker.

Asked if he said anything, he replied, "not a lot".

"They sort of protect him from meeting anyone new."

Asked why, he said, "not sure. Maybe a little bit paranoid."

When asked by Pollett if he had any observations of his lifestyle, he replied "a lot of money, [they could] buy what they wanted".

These molotov cocktails were found during the execution of a search warrant for Operation Silk. Photo / NZ Police

Asked how much money, he said "oh stacks … thousands".

"Just all the flash cars, clothes, everything … designer clothing you could call it, Gucci, Louis Vuitton."

Looking at various vehicles owned by the gang, the witness was asked about a red van with signwriting of 'TCB'.

Asked what that stood for, the witness said, "some say Taking Care of Bikes but I believe it was Taking Care of Business."

Pollett asked what the difference was and he replied, "taking care of business was that one … getting rid of someone".

Other vehicles owned by the group were a Holden SS V8 Commodore, a 1966 Impala driven by Thacker's father, Lance, and Harley Davidson motorbikes.

The witness claimed it was Hone Ronaki who asked him to do his first drug for cash exchange.

That first involved him being bought a cellphone and top-up and Kelly Petrowski setting him up on the encrypted messaging app, Wickr.

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He then drove to Picton with the drugs, two cylindrical shaped packages, stashed in the vehicle's roof compartment above the light and meeting his contact named, "Two Times", as he "says everything twice".

Two Times gave him $7000 cash which he took back to Te Puke.

He also revealed how the accused broke off from the Bandidos and formed the Mongols gang, with Thacker taking the national president's role.

He said there was an incident at a Bandidos gathering in Christchurch and one of Thacker's members got beaten up.

Several members, including Thacker and Hone Ronaki, were then asked to give their patches back but they refused, he said.

They then found another gang to "jump on", the Mongols, and he soon began seeing T-shirts being worn and about two months later, patches.

The witness said he went on to become a prospect for the gang and was motivated by the money and his love of driving.

He also spoke of storing guns, ammunition, and drugs at his house, including a swimming pool box full of larger weapons, including AR15, AK47, and long rifles.

"I was looking after them for them so if they ever needed them they were there."

He was also given a suitcase full of ammunition and smaller firearms to store, along with a toolbox full of methamphetamine.

Hone Ronaki had the key to the toolbox and eventually opened it and made bags of methamphetamine to sell in either ounces or half ounces.

"He had a list of who wanted what shit … he would scoop it into a container and weigh it, flick it three times, every time."

Asked by Pollett what he did with the drugs, the witness used a racially offensive term to describe Whakatane where he claimed the drugs were given to Black Power gang members.

"Head down to N*****tane, or Whakatane … going to see n*****, so some Black Power ... to give them their shit … all the bags of meth that he had made up."

When changing over to the Mongols, the gang also changed the way they communicated, ditching Wickr and moving to Cipher ones.

His next drug trip for the gang, was taking down a 2kg package of drugs and a 4 litre bottle of liquid and given $100,000 cash, bundled up in $5000 lots in a shoebox to take back.

The witnesses will continue to give evidence tomorrow, while the trial itself is set to continue until the end of October and is being overseen by Justice Melanie Harland.