Two in court on drugs charges following Comanchero gang raids
Tuesday, 16 April 2019
Two people have appeared in the Auckland District Court following a police operation targeting the Comanchero motorcycle gang.
A 48-year-old appeared on Tuesday morning on charges relating to the importation of methamphetamine. A 37-year-old woman appeared soon after on charges related to money laundering and importing methamphetamine.
Both were granted bail and interim name suppression.
The latest appearances follow a sting last Thursday which saw more than 80 police staff, including the Armed Offenders Squad, dog squad and a specialist search group, execute search warrants at 10 Auckland properties in the second phase of the investigation, known as Operation Nova.
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A 30-year-old man has already appeared in Auckland District Court facing five charges, including being a member of an organised criminal group.
The other four charges he faced related to money laundering.
Police alleged the man laundered over a million dollars of illegal cash and bought high-end luxury cars including two Range Rovers and a Mercedes.
Another man, 24, was also accused of money laundering. Those charges related to another Range Rover, worth $135,000 and a Bucklands Beach property.
The property was bought for $680,000.
Another two accused men appeared in court on Thursday evening and were also granted interim name suppression.
One of those who appeared late on Thursday was an 18 year-old accused of possessing firearms and ammunition, including a pump action shotgun and a pistol.
He also faced a charge of conspiring to supply pseudoephedrine, which can be used as a key ingredient of methamphetamine.
The other was a 32 year old accused of money laundering – including the sale of the Bucklands Beach property – and conspiring to supply pseudoephedrine.
The operation targeted senior members of the gang and a number of professionals, namely a lawyer and an accountant, who were believed to be linked to the alleged offending.
National Organised Crime Group's Detective Inspector Paul Newman said police were committed to protecting communities from the social harm that drug addiction and gangs cause.
'This is an operation targeting a range of criminal offending and our enquiries are continuing. We cannot rule out further arrests or charges.'
In May last year, Police Minister Stuart Nash said the Comanchero gang was well established in Australia and had recently come to New Zealand.
The gang has previously been described as Australia's most vicious and dangerous gang.
Nash said the gang coming to New Zealand was the result of patched members and prospects of the gang being deported from Australia.
COMANCHERO FACTS
- The Comanchero Motorcycle Club was formed by William George 'Jock' Ross, a Scottish immigrant, in Sydney in 1968.
- Ross chose the name after seeing the John Wayne film The Comancheros.
- In 1982, a second chapter was formed by Anthony Mark 'Snoddy' Spencer. When visiting the United States Spencer met members of the Texan motorcycle club, the Bandidos and the two gangs became allies.
- The Bandidos eventually patched-over the second Comanchero chapter to become the Bandidos' first Australian chapter.
- The Comanchero and Bandidos are now rivals and in 1984, the two clubs were involved in the Milperra massacre in Sydney, a shoot-out which left seven people dead, including four Comancheros, two Bandidos, and a 14-year-old bystander.