Senior Mongrel Mob member has $2.1m in cash, homes, vehicles seized

A senior Hawke's Bay Mongrel Mob Notorious member has been ordered to forfeit over $2.1 million worth of bikes, cars, property and cash.

The High Court in Napier ordered the forfeiture after a long-running investigation by police into the region's chapter.

The assets taken included five residential properties, cash and bank accounts totalling a little over $74,000, six vehicles, including two trucks, three motorcycles and a dirt bike as well as a boat, trailers and a Kobelco digger.

Police said the member was under investigation between 2019 and 2021. In 2021, six people were arrested following several search warrants in Hawke's Bay. Two vehicle dealers received a warning for their interactions with the Mongrel Mob.

Groups like Black Power and Outlaw MC gangs were also investigated.

Police said that during the investigation, gang members were taking steps to distance themselves from their assets "including registering them in the names of family members, friends, and other gang members".

Investigators found the assets were obtained through illegal means.

Police said it allowed "them to live a lifestyle beyond legitimate means that was openly displayed to the Hawke’s Bay public".

“This is an example of Police successfully targeting organised crime through both criminal and civil court jurisdictions,” Detective Sam Buckley said.

“One of the primary reasons that organised crime exists is to make money, and this result should show people participating in this activity that they will be held accountable.”

Over the past three years, police said the asset recovery unit has restrained over $8.7 million of property and cash from the Mongrel Mob in Hawke's Bay.

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"Organised crime and gangs in the Hawke’s Bay cause serious harm to our communities, and Police are committed to dismantling and disrupting their ability to do so," Buckley said.

"Police will continue to work to strip organised crime groups and their associates of their wealth earned from criminal activity."