Nazi salutes and barking as Mongrel Mob procession rolls through Lower Hutt for tangi

Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Christopher Luxon says gangs can't have the freedom of living in New Zealand without taking responsibility for how they affect those around them.

A large gang gathering took place for a tangi in Wellington on Tuesday.

Stuff understands the tangi was for Mongrel Mob member Anaru Moke, better known as Fats Dog Notorious.

The PM and police minister both denounced the behaviour of gang members.

Traffic almost ground to a standstill at Moera, Lower Hutt, as more than a thousand Mongrel Mob members gathered for a tangi at Te Kakano o te Aroha Marae.

Members are in the area for a tangi for Anaru Moke, better known as Fats Dog Notorious, to take place in Lower Hutt before a procession to Whenua Tapu Cemetery in Porirua.

The tangi on Tuesday took place in Lower Hutt before a procession to Whenua Tapu Cemetery in Porirua.

Stuff understands the tangi was for Anaru Moke, better known as Fats Dog Notorious, who was the face of the Taitā/Pomare Mongrel Mob and regularly appeared in the media and at public events.

The gang procession had left Moera as it made its way to the cemetery.

Burnouts were heard for 10 minutes as traffic built up as it headed through the area. Drivers began doing U-turns when it was clear the roads would be blocked for some time.

Gang members were also heard barking out of car windows, doing Nazi salutes and other gang signs and banging on vehicles.

One police car with lights on headed into the town as the majority of Mongrel Mob members left.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell told RNZ he wasn’t surprised by the behaviour on Tuesday because “the Mongrel Mob are idiots”.

“That’s the way they behave, they’re antisocial and they think that they are above the law and they think that they run the place and that's why we’ve come out very hard against the gangs,” he said.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told media on Tuesday he was pleased with the police’s engagement with the tangi, but looked forward to November 21 when gang patches would be banned in public.

Anaru Moke, better known as Fats Dog Notorious, was the face of the Taitā/Pomare Mongrel Mob.

“We’ve got a disproportionate impact coming from gang members who peddle misery and cause a lot of harm up and down the country impacting I’d say a lot of New Zealand families.

“And so that’s going to stop, because the message very clearly is gang life is not the way forward. There is a much more constructive way forward and so we will make your life difficult in a gang, we will harass the gangs.”

A shopkeeper, who did not want to be named, said she wasn’t “thrilled” about having the town filled with Mongrel Mob members.

The Mongrel Mob crowd gathered before a procession to Whenua Tapu Cemetery in Porirua.

She hadn’t seen any bad behaviour, and sales had been good on Tuesday, but not many of the regulars had stopped by as usual.

Earlier in Moera, the flush median, grass berms, footpaths and any other free space in the small township had been used for car parking.

The crowd was bathed in red clothing with gang patches from across the country, and some from Australia, were on display.

The mood appeared to be upbeat - as kids chowed down on a barbecue and pies while parents chatted.

Local Rosemary Bates, who was walking out of the town centre with her shopping, joked that the area was a lot busier than usual.

She was a little worried at first, when going to the grocery store, she said, but nobody gave her “any grief”.

“Someone asked how my day was going.”

Around the service area, little visible police presence could be seen. An earlier large group of police vehicles had moved away around 11am in the direction of the funeral procession.

The Post reported Fats’ Mongrel Mob influence began in Upper Hutt before he joined the Mongrel Mob Notorious Hawke’s Bay.

Whānau and community, he said, was at the heart of everything he did and that was how he wanted to be remembered

“If you look after the community, the community will look after you.”

Asked what he would say if he met Christopher Luxon, Fats told The Post he would invite him in for a cup of tea and tell him “we are just trying to survive bro”.

Hutt Valley Prevention Manager Inspector Shaun Lingard said there had been a visible presence in Lower Hutt as they monitored the funeral procession.

“Unlawful activity will not be tolerated and any unlawful behaviour will be investigated and followed up with enforcement action.”

At 5.30pm on Tuesday, police confirmed the attendees were dispersing and no arrests had been made, although they would be following up on information they had gathered relating to unlawful behaviour.