A documentary maker says widespread corruption in New Zealand is helping to fuel gangs.
The two-part documentary The Gangs... 14 Years Later will air on Three on Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:30pm.
It follows up Pam Corkery's 2008 documentary The Gangs.
Appearing on AM to preview her documentary, Corkery said the biggest change in the gangs since 2008 is the impact 501s are having.
"There are a lot more of them [gangs], obviously, and there is a sophistication that has been brought in, sophistication for want of a better term by the 501s from Australia. So there the two big differences I feel," Corkery told AM co-host Ryan Bridge.
"More reckless violence is I think the outcome of the 501s arriving because they haven't got any familiar ties … but it's been an evolution. I always think the numbers of violence are sort of disproportionate in media coverage, but there's no denying it's happening and it's on an increase."
For a long-time people have believed there is no corruption in New Zealand, but Corkery said there are "truckloads of it".
"I think we've got to take it as a whole in that way and this has become very international now, the drug trade in New Zealand. We have Germans, Dutch, people from all around the world, and Mexicans importing drugs into New Zealand," she said.
"So it's no longer a clean and nice place and the term corruption, we always say there's no corruption in New Zealand, yeah, there's truckloads of it, mate, when it comes to funding gangs and then getting most of the profits to."
The documentary delves into how real estate agents, investors, bankers and accountants are helping gangs.
"The guy in charge of the border said to me, whenever a drug gets into New Zealand, there's been some corruption involved," she told AM.
"But you look at the Comancheros, they have fresh houses, well, that's dirty money. It's been laundered by an accountant."
Watch part one of The Gangs... 14 Years Later on Three at 9:30pm on Tuesday.
