Police target South Island tribal gang members as Operation Cobalt continues

Please attribute Paul Basham’s relief to the Assistant Commissioner’s Investigation:

Bikes have been seized, licenses suspended and arrested as police target tribal gang members across the South Island.

Officers have carried out several operations after the influx of tribesmen late last week. Gang members came from different parts of the North Island. Our operations began in Wellington, followed them en route to Canterbury, and continued into Southland and the Lake Otago region.

Active surveillance of the gang’s movements has so far resulted in the seizure of 15 motorbikes and 2 vehicles, 15 license suspensions and 6 arrests. The arrests are related to drug and driving crimes.

Assistant Commissioner Relaxes Investigation Paul Basham says this is a good result and shows continued efforts to target illegal activities by gangs.

“Our police officers across the South Island have worked together to share information to ensure that gang members have a clear understanding that unruly and dangerous behavior on our roads will not be tolerated.

“Police continue to step up their crackdown on and obstruction of illegal gang activity across the country as Operation Cobalt continues to operate following last year’s great success. , we will continue to see arrests made for identifiable crimes.

“Our message to gang members and their associates is very clear: we will not tolerate any criminal activity, whether it be road networks, drug activity or violence.”

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Published by Police Media Center