Tribesmen national vice-president Ricky Poa (pictured left) sat atop a multimillion-dollar drug-dealing and money-laundering operation.
A two-year police operation dismantled a multimillion-dollar drug network, resulting in jail for Tribesmen members and associates. Al Williams takes a look at the operation that exploited gaps in airport security, using commercial flights and tow trucks to move drugs and cash.
Ricky Poa lived a lavish lifestyle, often travelling business class abroad and driving cars that cost six figures.
He sat atop a multimillion-dollar drug empire, but always at arm’s length from his minions.
In conversations he had with a Thai citizen he met during one of his trips, Poa boasted about his wealth and positioned himself near the throne of a gang hierarchy.
He paid for the Thai citizen to visit him in New Zealand to “see my country and see my gang”.
Behind the wealth was a weakness in regional airport security that allowed Poa’s operation to flourish.
It was widely known that smaller airports didn’t have the luggage-scanning machines used at larger ones.
It allowed the transport of large quantities of drugs without detection by authorities.
The drugs were picked up in Auckland and driven to Hamilton and Rotorua. They were then flown to Christchurch for distribution.
Meanwhile, Poa, 33 and legally unemployed, was travelling to Thailand and Indonesia where he stayed in luxury accommodation.
He lived in Thailand for several months and gang associates and family members took regular trips to visit him, funded by Poa despite him having no legitimate source of income.
He owned or used several high-value vehicles, including a $65,000 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a $149,000 2021 Mercedes-Benz and a $159,500 2021 BMW X5 SUV.
While he was flaunting his wealth and bragging about his status, his minions were kept busy operating the multimillion-dollar meth and cocaine supply network out of Christchurch.
Poa was the principal offender, leader and the main financial beneficiary of the drug-dealing activity.
Known as Sarge, Bigko and Rick, he instructed his troops to do the groundwork.
He was responsible primarily for sourcing significant quantities of the drugs from organised criminal groups in Auckland and elsewhere.
Consistent with that role, he did not have the drugs or cash in his possession.
As the operation expanded, the South Island National Organised Crime Group caught its scent and a team of 20 officers worked day and night to bring it down.
Poa’s days of international travel, luxury accommodation and flash cars are now a distant memory. They came to an end in late 2023 when the group were busted as part of Operation Italian Sky.
The national vice-president of the Tribesmen Motorcycle gang was in custody as the operation identified 11 members and associates of the Tribesmen operating a meth and cocaine supply network.
All of them have now been convicted and sentenced.
For more than two years, Poa was supported by Michael Erikson, one of his most trusted patched members who managed transport and storage of the drugs and cash.
He was Poa’s most loyal and reliable associate and has Poa’s nickname, Sarge, tattooed on his face.
Erikson, known as Sweets, and his brother, Jaxxon, a prospect known as Big Boy, were responsible for managing the first of two supply lines.
That involved receiving wholesale kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine and distributing them through the network.
The Erikson brothers arranged for their mother, Sherryn, to receive and store drugs and cash at her Blockhouse Bay home in Auckland and, on their instruction, she handed over drugs and cash to others, including their cousin, Jordan Rapana, and, later, Tramayne Rauhihi.
The Erikson brothers arranged for Rapana to bring the methamphetamine from Auckland to their Christchurch home, which was the centre of operations for the first supply line.
The brothers distributed the methamphetamine to street-level dealers in Christchurch and collected the cash proceeds from sales, assisted by Dylan Stuart in the enforcement of drug debts, including a kidnapping in September 2023.
The brothers also used a second supply line to obtain methamphetamine and cocaine from the North Island that were collected by Rauhihi on their behalf.
Poa’s brother, Andrew Smith, a patched member, was responsible for managing the second supply line and in regular communication with Poa about it.
The line operated under the guise of businesses owned and operated by Blake Harpur, namely a towing company named Cantow and a vehicle detailing business named Cany Customs.
Both businesses were Rangiora based.
Smith and Harpur organised for cash to be sent from Christchurch to Auckland and for methamphetamine and cocaine to be brought back to Christchurch on tow trucks or other company vehicles.
They also sold methamphetamine and cocaine at street level.
Tramayne Rauhihi, known as Swags, worked as a tow truck driver for Harpur and, while not a patched member, under the direction of Harpur, transported cash from Christchurch to Auckland and transported methamphetamine and cocaine back to Christchurch.
Matthew Linton, a senior member of the gang and known as Ghost or Casper, organised money for the gang.
Linton stored large quantities of cash and monitored the amount of money that some of the dealers in the network were making.
Some of the cash was placed in a storage unit and some went into bank accounts under his control.
During a 19-month period he received $765,000 in his bank accounts. He transferred $697,000 into other accounts, including $566,000 into overseas gambling accounts.
When he was arrested in late 2023 and search warrants executed at his New Brighton home and his storage unit in Riccarton, $134,000 cash was found hidden in two shopping bags at the storage unit.
A further $37,000 cash and a money-counting machine were found at his home.
Caleb Caffery worked for Poa, storing cash at his property for the gang.
Caffery paid or reimbursed Rapana for expenses relating to his flights to and from Christchurch. He also deposited cash from the sale of methamphetamine and cocaine into bank accounts under his control. He then electronically transferred cash into accounts for Poa to finance his stay in Thailand.
Between January 2022 and July 2023, Rapana was organised by the Erikson brothers to bring methamphetamine to Christchurch for distribution in the network.
Rapana received the drugs from unknown persons in organised crime groups in Auckland.
He would either leave cash unattended in his vehicle for collection by those unknown persons, or exchange cash for drugs from Sherryn Erikson, who would receive deliveries at her home from people linked to organised crime groups.
Erikson would also go to Rapana’s property to drop off drugs and collect money and was observed doing so while under police surveillance.
Rapana travelled on commercial flights to and from Christchurch on most occasions; however, sometimes he travelled by car.
When Rapana arrived in Christchurch he would book an Uber from the airport to a location near where the Erikson brothers lived and then walk the rest of the journey to their property.
He would stay only long enough to deliver the drugs to the brothers, before booking an Uber back to the airport and, usually, returning to Auckland the same day.
They would give cash to him to take back to Auckland for the next drug procurement.
They also paid Rapana in cash for transporting the drugs, but only once he had completed each delivery.
As such, his travel expenses to and from Christchurch were often funded by his associates, who he would reimburse after each delivery.
The Erikson brothers would drive to several locations of interest after the deliveries, distributing methamphetamine and collecting cash.
The last trip took place in July 2023, when Rapana was arrested at Christchurch Airport. He had 1.971kg of methamphetamine on him.
A schedule of Rapana’s travel showed he made the Christchurch deliveries at least 20 times.
Between May and October 2023, a second supply line was operated using tow trucks from Harpur’s business to transport cash to Auckland, purchase methamphetamine and cocaine from organised crime groups and return to Christchurch for distribution.
The drivers, predominantly Rauhihi, but also Harpur and Smith, would meet with unknown persons from organised criminal groups and exchange cash for wholesale quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine.
The exchanges would occur in supermarket carparks, forecourts of service stations or at Sherryn Erikson’s home.
She would store drugs and cash for the supply line at her property, as she did for the other supply line.
Drug deliveries would be received and processed at Harpur’s business in Rangiora for Cany Customs and Cantow, ready for wider distribution.
The drugs were sold and distributed by Smith, Harpur and the Erikson brothers.
The Erikson brothers also used Harpur’s business to facilitate the transport of methamphetamine and cocaine after the first supply line was interrupted.
The last trip took place in October 2023, when Rauhihi was arrested at a service station in Mt Roskill, Auckland, with 1.987 kg of methamphetamine and 1.62kg of cocaine in his possession.
A schedule of the trips taken by Rauhihi, Harpur and Smith in the tow trucks showed they delivered drugs to Christchurch at least 15 times.
Based on the intercepted communications between the relevant parties throughout the offending period and the drugs intercepted by police on both supply lines, the total quantity of methamphetamine and cocaine attributable to each supply line was conservatively assessed: total methamphetamine on supply line one = 30kg; total methamphetamine on supply line two = 25kg; total cocaine on supply line two = 15kg.
A total of $497,000 cash was seized at properties linked to the defendants during the offending period.
Financial investigations into the network showed little-to-no legitimate spending within their accounts.
Despite this, some members of the group were identified driving high-end vehicles, taking overseas holidays and living affluent lifestyles.
The summary of facts showed the financial success of the illegal enterprises, the two distribution lines, and the street-level operation was summarised in an extracted voice message found on Blake Harpur’s mobile phone following termination.
In the conversation, Smith explains who is paying for the national Tribesmen club function.
“It’s like a two-week function you know, we’re all ready; Christchurch is already going to be covering a lot of that.
“’Cause our chapter makes a lot of money man, so we’re kind of like obviously the ones putting our hands in our pockets ....”
National Organised Crime Group South Island manager Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Sparks told NZME the group were key suppliers of controlled drugs into the South Island.
With a staff of 20 comprising sworn and non-sworn support and intelligence, he said hundreds of hours were involved in bringing them down.
Even though the investigation had put a dent in supply, Sparks said there was always a vacuum to be filled when they prosecuted a large syndicate.
“The volumes are increasing in terms of meth and coke in the South Island due to availability and demand; however, we will not let up in the fight to restrict or stop this supply.
“I’m not saying we are seeing a specific spike; however, the volumes over the past five years have grown.”
He said overseas crime groups had identified New Zealand as the “golden goose” in terms of the dollar return on drug sales and the South Island was often even slightly higher due to its geographical location.
“So, it is attractive for them and there is demand here.”
Sparks said the Tribesmen exploited gaps in the airport scanning operations, specifically in Hamilton and Rotorua, that enabled them to transport drugs.
“That is something we are working with the carriers on; they [organised criminal groups] are utilising regional airports’ lack of scanning to their advantage.”
“There are always learning curves in these investigations; however, as a whole, the success of Operation Italian Sky lies in exceptional investigative work conducted by very good investigators combating a noticeable upsurge in organised crime groups’ ability to network and attempts to work around law enforcement.”
Ricky Michael Te Rangi Poa: 7 years and 7 months’ imprisonment.
Michael Joseph Aaron Erikson: 8 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.
Andrew Michael Smith: 9 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.
Jaxxon Erikson: 6 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.
Blake Michael James Harpur: 5 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.
Jordan Rapana: 5 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.
Matthew John Linto: 3 years and 1 month’s imprisonment.
Tramayne Rauhihi: 2 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.
Dylan Rudd Stuart: 1 year and 9 months’ imprisonment.
Caleb Anthony Pasione Caffery: 10 months’ home detention.
Sherryn Elizabeth Erikson: 9 months’ home detention.
The summary of facts showed the Tribesmen Motorcycle Club was formed in Ōtara, South Auckland, about 1981-82. In 1984, police recognised them as an outlaw motorcycle gang.
Today, there are multiple chapters of the gang throughout New Zealand; some of these appear to be subordinate to other chapters and some stand in their own right – which is the case with the South Island Tribesmen.
Senior members of the gang wear a patch that designates their standing and role within the gang. In general, a patched member is a senior and trusted member of the group.
People who wish to join the gang begin as friends, then become gang associates, then progress to gang prospects.
Associates and prospects are predominantly the workers of the group, completing drug runs and selling drugs at the direction of patched members.
Patched members in more senior positions are unlikely to physically carry or be in the same place as the controlled drugs from which they financially benefit.
The gang members who benefit the most through the profits derived from this activity are often senior patched members and members with leadership roles within the gang.
Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the past 16 years. Most recently, he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of Cook Islands News.