Joseph Nathan, Staff Writer.
Residents of South Canterbury and Christchurch are praising police efforts after a coordinated crackdown between November 15 and 18 targeted gang-linked criminal activity.
Authorities arrested 30 individuals connected to the Mongols Motorcycle Club during a series of raids coinciding with the gang’s fifth-anniversary gathering in Christchurch. The operation exposed a cannabis-growing site, seized firearms, and disrupted what police described as a sophisticated drug network.
Search warrants led officers to a property in Aranui, where two women were detained on drug-related charges.
Meanwhile, a second raid in Islington uncovered a sawn-off shotgun and several air rifles. Police say these seizures demonstrate the growing prevalence of gang-fueled crime across the region.
Canterbury District Commander Tony Hill explained that the heightened police presence was part of a broader strategy to clamp down on unlawful activity linked to organised crime.
He noted that the arrests and seizures served as a warning to gangs and their associates, underlining that illegal operations would face swift consequences.
For many in South Canterbury, the operation is a welcome step toward curbing the spread of methamphetamine and cannabis distribution, which often passes through smaller towns on its way across the South Island. Yet, some worry about the ongoing challenge of countering organised crime’s influence in rural communities.
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