Police have arrested multiple people for a range of violent crimes in Southland dating back to January 2022.
They arrested 11 people, the youngest 16 years old, with known links to the Mongrel Mob for charges including attempted murder, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and firearms offences.
It sees the termination of Operation Pakari, an investigation that began last year into a number of serious offences believed to be linked to the Mongrel Mob in Southland, and in particular the Mataura Chapter.
The investigation was into two drive-by shootings in Invercargill in January and June last year, and two occasions where people were dropped off at Gore Hospital seriously injured.
By midday Wednesday, officers had executed 12 search warrants at addresses in Mataura, Gore, Dunedin, and Hamilton.
As a result, 11 males aged between 16 and 43 with links to the Mongrel Mob have been arrested - many of whom have strong links to gangs and organised crime in the district. Of these, three arrests were made in Auckland.
They were due to appear in Invercargill District Court on Wednesday and in the coming days.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and they can not rule out further arrests.
Southland Area Commander Inspector Mike Bowman acknowledges the great work achieved as part of the operation.
"This operation has been about protecting the community and ensuring Invercargill, Gore and Mataura continue to be safe places to live," he said.
"The investigative team has worked tirelessly to achieve the results we see here today, and the outcome is the result of all of their hard work and dedication.
"These groups are not welcome here; we see the harm they inflict through organised criminal activity and we will target the people who seek to profit from that harm.
"We will continue to target and suppress unlawful gang behaviour in order to protect and enhance the safety of our community and staff.
"It is our priority to ensure everyone in our communities feels safe and is safe."
Southland Police said in order to achieve this long-term, they needed to engage in a deeper way with the affected families as a result of these warrants and arrests.
Following the warrants executed this week, Police have had dedicated teams alongside social agencies heading into the family homes and offering immediate support to those who in many cases suddenly find themselves struggling.
"It's one thing to arrest a parent, it's another to leave another caregiver struggling to support the family," Insp Bowman said.
"While we are focused on holding people to account for what is serious violent offending, Police's role is also to be victim-focused and help preventing further harm from occurring.
"Police are doing this by ensuring that households affected by this offending receive the appropriate support they need.
"This could be as simple as budgeting advice, or more significant interventions such as child welfare agencies being involved."
Anyone in the community, whether directly affected by this offending or not, who is struggling is encouraged to reach out to relevant services.
As well, police continue to encourage anyone with information about illegal activity taking place in their community to contact 105, or Crime Stoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.
If there is immediate risk to life or property, call 111.
