As stated by Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Ambler:
Police have arrested three people in relation to Operation Rangiriri, the serious assault on the Waikato Expressway in March.
Seven search warrants, four in Auckland and three in Christchurch, were executed this morning.
As a result, four men, all tribesmen members, were arrested.
A large amount of gang insignia was seized including clothing, patches and helmets as well as cell phones and two motorcycles.
Three men, aged 25,27 and 32 have been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to the serious assault on the Waikato Expressway on 11 March.
One of these men also faces charges of possession for supply of cocaine and possession of ecstasy. Cannabis and cash were also located as a result of the searches.
They appeared in the Christchurch District Court and Counties Manukau District Court this afternoon.
The fourth man was arrested on an unrelated matter.
The 31-year-old victim from the assault is continuing to recover.
I would like to thank all those involved including those members of the public, who like the NZ Police will not be intimidated or tolerate gang violence.
Some long hard hours went into today’s termination by a lot of staff over several districts, while a lot of this work goes unseen and is unheralded it none the less is impressive.
Although today’s arrest were a significant milestone in the investigation there is still a lot to be done.
We know of up to six other people who were involved in the assault and we will continue to work towards bringing all those responsible to justice.
The investigation team continues to review information provided by the public and anyone who is yet to contact Police is urged to come forward and contact us anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting file number 220311/5636.
