Police freeze Head Hunters' Christchurch assets

STUFF

Armed police raided the Christchurch Head Hunters' pad on Vickerys Rd early on Friday morning.

Police have frozen hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets belonging to the Head Hunters in Christchurch, including the gang's headquarters.

There was a large police presence at the gang pad in Vickerys Rd, Sockburn, on Friday morning. A man wearing the gang's Bay of Plenty colours was led away, without handcuffs, to a police car.

Canterbury district commander Superintendent John Price said police had taken civil action against the Head Hunters – restraining assets, including motorcycles and the Vickerys Rd property, under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009.

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A man, wearing the gang's Bay of Plenty colours, was led away, without handcuffs, to a police car.

The action was linked to Operation Block, a lengthy police investigation that late last year saw several patched members and associates of the gang facing charges, including supplying methamphetamine and participating in an organised criminal group. Lyndon Richardson, arguably the most senior Christchurch Head Hunters figure, was among those arrested.

Price said police had a "zero tolerance" approach to gangs, which "drive organised crime across New Zealand".

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A police spokeswoman said the raid was a "planned search" and declined to comment further.

Friday's operation comes after police in Auckland last month restrained $6 million of property belonging to Head Hunters president Wayne Doyle, arguably one of the most influential gang members in New Zealand.

Detective Superintendent Iain Chapman said the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act enabled police to "disrupt, deter, and derail crime, especially in the areas of organised crime and methamphetamine offending".

"Our work in this area denies criminals the opportunity to either enjoy the benefits of offending or to reinvest those proceeds in further criminal activity," Chapman said.

Forfeited assets were managed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Money from that fund was then bid for by government agencies.

The Head Hunters, who started setting up in Christchurch several years ago, took over the Vickerys Rd property from the now defunct Epitaph Riders bikie gang in October 2015.

Lincoln Property Investments owns the pad, which has a rateable value of $320,000. Richardson and Terence McFarland, a senior Head Hunters member from Auckland, are listed as directors of the company.

In December last year, police said they believed they had uncovered evidence of drug dealing at the Vickerys Rd property following Operation Block, a "major" four month investigation into the gang's activity in Christchurch.

The Head Hunters formed in 1967 as a street gang in Glen Innes, Auckland.

Police are concerned by the rapid growth of the gang, which has hundreds of patched members nationally – some involved in drug manufacturing and supply, debt collection and intimidation.

The gang uses gyms, fight nights or similar events to recruit members.

- Stuff