Three Tribesmen gang members have been arrested and charged after a motorist was left critically injured in an alleged assault on the Waikato Expressway in March.
The 31-year-old victim was travelling north near Rangiriri when he stopped his vehicle, got out and was viciously assaulted by a group of people on March 11.
Three men, aged 25, 27 and 32, were arrested on Tuesday morning after searches were carried out in Auckland and Christchurch.
The trio appeared in the Christchurch District Court and Counties Manukau District Court on Tuesday afternoon charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Ambler said in a statement.
One of the men has also been charged with possession for supply of cocaine and possession of ecstasy.
Ambler said police have also seized a "large amount of gang insignia", including clothing, patches and helmets. Cell phones, two motorcycles, cannabis and cash were also seized.
A fourth man was arrested on an unrelated matter.
He said the victim "is continuing to recover".
"I would like to thank all those involved including those members of the public, who like the New Zealand Police will not be intimidated or tolerate gang violence," Ambler said.
"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."
Ambler said while Tuesday's arrests 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."
Anyone with information has been urged to contact police through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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