Bikers from separate New Zealand motorcycle gangs sent plumes of smoke across Auckland CBD on Sunday afternoon while performing burnouts during a “memorial ride”.
A video posted to social media shows members of the King Cobras gang performing burnouts outside a bar on Drake St, near Victoria Park.
The video suggested the gang was having “a function” at a bar on Drake St.
Another video obtained by the Herald shows members of the Tribesmen Motorcycle Club and King Cobras gang riding in convoy together on motorcycles up Victoria St West shortly before 2pm.
A police spokesman said both incidents, which occurred within 1km of the Auckland Central Police Station, were related to a memorial ride and event for someone “who passed away some time ago”.
“There were no issues police were made aware of.”
The spokesman said police would make follow-up inquiries regarding the incident “if able”.
The Herald has approached Police Minister Mark Mitchell for comment on the convoy.
The coalition Government has recently announced tough new anti-gang laws, which looks to ban all gang insignia in public places and create greater powers to stop criminal gangs from gathering in groups and communicating.
Speaking at the Auckland Central Police Station in February, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said under the new law to crack down on gangs, police will be able to issue dispersal notices, which will require gang members to immediately leave the area and not associate with one another for seven days.
Courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, which will stop specified gang offenders from associating or communicating with one another for up to three years.
“The law will also be changed to give greater weight to gang membership as an aggravating factor at sentencing, enabling courts to impose more severe punishments,” Goldsmith said.
Under the legislation, wearing a gang patch in public would come with a penalty of a fine of up to $5000 or up to six months in prison.
Goldsmith said over the past five years gangs have recruited more than 3000 members, a 51 per cent increase. At the same time, there had been a significant escalation in gang-related violence, public intimidation and shootings, with violent crime up 33 per cent.
Mitchell said New Zealanders deserve to feel safe in their homes, communities and public places.
“For too long gangs have been allowed to behave as if they are above the law. There is no tolerance for this behaviour and these new laws will support Police to take action against it.”
Mitchell said the ban on gang patches would apply to funerals/tangi and although funeral services were always emotional events, that doesn’t give gang members the right to disrupt and take over public places.
The legislation was expected to be passed into law by the end of the year.
Fifteen fire trucks attended, with resources coming from Hamilton.