A top cop is reassuring people that officers are making the lives of Killer Beez and Tribesmen gang members "absolutely uncomfortable" as the gangs take 'utu' out on one another.
The war between the two gangs has spilled out onto Auckland's streets in recent weeks, with the police investigating multiple shootings and suspicious fires. There have been more than 20 drive-by shootings in two weeks.
More than 20 people linked to the gangs have been arrested. Firearms and ammunition have also been seized.
"There is no other tactic or option for us to address violence but to go hard on what these gangs are doing to our communities and their blatant disregard for law and order," Deputy Commissioner iwi and communities Wally Haumaha told Breakfast.
Haumaha said teams are working 24/7 to address the "absolutely despicable" behaviour of the gangs. He said repeatedly police were "making the lives of these gang members, these two warring factions, absolutely uncomfortable".
The deputy commissioner admitted the escalating violence between the Killer Beez and Tribesmen hadn't been seen for some time.
"When you've got one of the gangs intent on taking utu out on the other group, the whole escalation of violence between the two is something we haven't seen in a long, long time."
Haumaha's message to the Killer Beez and Tribesmen is "we'll be coming after you".
"Let me assure you our staff are out there doing as much as they can, collecting as much information as they can, to try and stay ahead of the game and be ahead of these gang members."
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With houses across Auckland being sprayed with bullets, Haumaha admitted there is a real fear an innocent bystander, or police officer, will be caught in the crossfire of the gang war.
"That is a real fear, and I really do feel for our communities, particularly the innocent people who are standing in the vicinity of those drive-by shootings and potentially could be caught in the crossfire," he said.
"But we will make life as uncomfortable as we can. We have dedicated teams working 24/7 to address these issues."
Gang expert Jarrod Gilbert explains the Killer Beez started as a feeder group to the Tribesmen in 2003. (Source: Breakfast)
READ MORE - Killer Beez and Tribesmen: From feeder gang to violent rivals
Gang expert Jarrod Gilbert said earlier that tensions between the two gangs have "always been significant" but it was not known what sparked the latest string of violence.
He was confident "really firm police action" targeting the two gangs should see the tensions die down again.
"When this tit-for-tat escalation of violence occurs, clearly a police response is absolutely necessary, so what the police do is they saturate the two gangs, re-investigate old offences, pull up people for even minor offences," he said.
"The pressure becomes such it puts a firebreak in the tit-for-tat so it settles it down."
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