Gangs in New Zealand
[1] Soon after, the Mongrel Mob formed in Hastings and Wellington, developing into a predominantly Māori and Pacific Islander gang, and having the largest membership in the country.
[3] By the 1970s, established gangs included Black Power, Mongrel Mob, Head Hunters and Barbarian Stormtroopers.
Some had friends in high places, with Prime Minister Robert Muldoon partying at a Black Power pad in 1976 and Mayor of Wellington Michael Fowler stumping bail for seven of them after an altercation with the Mongrel Mob.
[2] Examples of local street gangs in 2007 were the Junior Don Kings (JDK) and Dope Money Sex (DMS) of Auckland.
[2] New Zealand gangs have generally been heavily influenced by their American counterparts and have remained a significant social problem since 1990.
[7][8][9] In 2009 the Wanganui District Council voted to ban gang patches, but it was overturned following a judicial review instigated by the Hells Angels.
[11] A law banning gang patches from government and public buildings was introduced in 2012 by National Party Member of Parliament (MP) Todd McClay.
[12] Police welcomed the law,[13] but critics such as Mana Movement MP Hone Harawira claimed it was racist against Māori.
It has chapters in West Auckland, Wellsford, Northland and most recently Wellington and Christchurch after patching over the Epitaph Riders.
[30] Its beginning is said to go back to 1967 and has been historically tied to West Auckland although it maintains a presence in Ellerslie through a senior member.
[33] The King Cobras are a Central Auckland-based gang[34] with its origins born out of the Polynesian Panthers in the early 1970s whose ranks are predominantly Pacific Islanders[35] but not exclusive of others.
[34][41] In 2012, the notorious worldwide Motorcycle Club known as the Bandidos set up in South Auckland[42] and later established a second chapter in Christchurch.
[46] It made headlines again in late 2015 when it shutdown Nelson's long-standing Lost Breed MC to stamp its mark on the city.
[48] It has chapters in Auckland, Hastings, Rotorua, Northland, Wellington and Christchurch, and by 2008 had expanded into Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast in eastern Australia.
Originally consisting of Pākehā youth, it became primarily Māori and Pacific Islander, like its Black Power rivals.
[63][64] In 2011 Vila Lemanu was the most senior Killer Beez member not in prison, he was on the run for several months[65] before having his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal and a new trial ordered.
[citation needed] In 2012 the club was involved in a high-profile anti-drug operation which later fell apart under heavy scrutiny in court.
A range of charges laid against twenty one club members and associates were stayed, and later dropped altogether, in the belief that police had committed a "gross abuse of process" in posing as court officials to obtain a fake arrest warrant.
