Why Tribesmen gang member was denied parole for shooting Killer Beez rival and former friend Josh Masters

The shooting of Josh Masters by his former friend Okusitino Tae ignited tensions between the once-aligned Killer Beez and Tribesmen motorcycle gangs. Photo / NZME

A senior member of the Tribesmen who shot the leader of the rival Killer Beez gang will not be released from prison early because of the risk of danger to him and others in a small community.

Okusitino Tae shot Josh Masters with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol when the pair crossed paths at a motorcycle dealership in Mt Wellington in April 2019.

Masters, the president of the Killer Beez gang, collapsed onto the asphalt driveway pinned under his Harley Davidson which fell on top of him.

Tae stood over his defenceless victim, aimed at point-blank range and squeezed the trigger again.

Fortunately for Masters, the pistol jammed. He survived the encounter but is paralysed from the waist down.

The following year, Tae pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The gangland shooting in broad daylight was shocking because of Masters’ notoriety, but especially because Tae had once been a close friend.

The pair were founding members of the Killer Beez, one of the new breed of street gangs that popped up like mushrooms in Auckland in the early 2000s.

The Killer Beez were also a feeder group to the Tribesmen, a more traditional motorcycle club, which had a long association with the suburb of Ōtara.

The lines between the gangs were so blurred that Masters, once described by a High Court judge as a charismatic leader with undoubted business acumen, also held a senior position in the Tribesmen at one point.

He was arrested in 2008 on methamphetamine and money-laundering charges, for which he was later convicted and received a sentence of 10 years and five months in prison.

Unfortunately, the harsh environment of prison proved an even more fertile ground for recruitment.

By the time Masters was released from prison in May 2018, the Killer Beez had grown to 312 members with a reputation as dangerous prisoners, with brutal attacks on other inmates and prison guards.

Once a ragtag group of childhood friends, the Killer Beez was now the fourth-largest gang in New Zealand.

In Masters’ absence from Ōtara, many of the original Killer Beez had graduated to the colours of the Tribesmen and re-established the gang’s dominance in their old stomping ground of Ōtara.

Killer Beez founder and president Josh Masters at a police checkpoint at Ramarama. He was paralysed after being shot. Photo / Brett Phibbs

His homecoming was met with resistance from his former friends, and tensions flared with a number of shootings as Masters reasserted the Killer Beez as a fully-fledged motorcycle club with distinctive white patches.

Everything came to a head in April 2019, when Tae shot his former friend at the Mt Wellington motorcycle dealership.

After several years of relative peace, the gang rivalry then resumed in 2022 in a series of 23 tit-for-tat shootings and firebombings across Auckland which threatened to spiral out of control.

While no one was seriously injured, there were concerns about the heavy firepower used by both sides and the risk of an innocent bystander being killed.

Eventually, the gangs negotiated a ceasefire and the truce has held since then.

Akustino Tae, top left, was once a close friend of Josh Masters when both were members of the Killer Beez gang. Photos / File

But the Parole Board is clearly concerned that the conflict could reignite once Tae leaves prison.

Now 45, Tae appeared before the three-person panel chaired by Sir Ronald Young in October seeking an early release from custody.

According to the heavily redacted decision of the Parole Board, Tae had completed 36 sessions with a psychologist which was “in effect all the rehabilitation required to address his risk”.

At the hearing last month, Tae asked to be released to live with a support person in a two-bedroom rental property in what was described as a small town.

“The [redacted] say they have put together a comprehensive release plan for Mr Tae including rehabilitation and reintegration programmes,” the Parole Board wrote.

“Mr [redacted] said he had assisted Mr Tae in surrendering his gang patch and that he was no longer involved in gangs.”

Most of the discussion at the Parole Board hearing was about whether the proposed address was suitable for Tae, given the risk he could be targeted in retribution.

“Our view is that it would not be safe to release Mr Tae to reside at [redacted],” the Parole Board wrote.

“We consider that given [redacted] is a relatively small town and it will be soon known where Mr Tae is living that will likely create a potentially serious risk for him, and as a result, a risk for the wider community.”

Tae will reappear before the Parole Board before April 2025. Before he could be released, the Parole Board said Tae needed to find a more suitable location to live. The panel also asked for a briefing from a police gang liaison officer to assess the danger posed to him.

“We need to better understand what risks there are to him, and therefore the community he lives in, and how those risks might be mitigated for any release.”

If Tae is not granted an early release on parole next year, his sentence ends in April 2026.

Killer Beez founder Josh Masters was left paralysed from the waist down and now attends gang rides on a quad bike. Photo / PhibbsVisuals

Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland and Gangster’s Paradise.