Six Mongrel Mob associates found guilty after kidnapping and drive-by shootings across Southland

Six members of the Mataura Mongrel Mob have been found guilty after several serious assaults and a kidnapping across Southland in 2022.

Six associates of the Mataura Mongrel Mob have been found guilty after several serious assaults and a kidnapping across Southland in 2022.

An investigation by Southland police looked into the series of violent offending that took place across several months.

The first incident, in late January 2022, sparked further offences, such as drive-by shootings and violent assaults, which left people with critical injuries, said Inspector Mike Bowman.

A total of 21 people were put before the courts on a range of charges in June 2023 when the investigation ended.

Six of these defendants went on trial in Christchurch on July 1 on a total of 12.

Bowman said he was pleased the investigation resulted in convictions, including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping, and injuring with intent to injure.

“Those responsible for this offending will be held to account.

“The victims of these assaults were members of the Mongrel Mob, and in most cases were unco-operative with police.

“This was a very complex, difficult investigation, and the prosecution of this group has been one of the more challenging cases for Southland police in recent times.

“This investigation is testament to the fact that everyone can expect to be held to account for violent offending, no matter who you are or who the victims are.

“Our role at the time of these arrests was to help ensure that whānau and household members directly impacted by the arrests were well-supported.

“This involved working alongside our partner agencies to provide them the ongoing support they needed, and to help ensure any further harm and offending was minimised.

“This work is still ongoing, in the form of the Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (Rocc) programme, which was launched in Southland in 2023.

“It brings together a range of agencies such as mana whenua, NGO [non-governmental organisation] providers, community representatives, police, and those with lived experience of harm from organised crime.”

Other matters in relation to this operation were still before the courts, Bowman said.