Six members of the Mataura Mongrel Mob have today been found guilty for a number of serious assaults and kidnapping in Southland in 2022.
Operation Pakari was a complex, detailed investigation by Southland Police into violent offending across several months.
Inspector Mike Bowman says the first incident, in late January 2022, spurred further offences in the form of drive-by shootings, and violent assaults which left people with critical injuries.
The termination of the operation in June 2023 resulted in 21 people being put before the courts on a range of charges.
Due to a number of factors, six defendants went on trial in Christchurch on 1 July 2025 on a total of 12 charges, including wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping, and injuring with intent to injure.
“I’m incredibly pleased that the thorough investigation by our staff has resulted in convictions in court, meaning those responsible for this offending will be held to account.”
“The victims of these assaults were members of the Mongrel Mob, and in most cases were uncooperative with Police,” Inspector Bowman says.
“This was a very complex, difficult investigation and the prosecution of this group has been one of the more challenging cases for Southland Police in recent times.
“This investigation is testament to the fact that everyone can expect to be held to account for violent offending, no matter who you are or who the victims are.”
Inspector Bowman says Southland Police are also very proud of the work done within the community before, during, and after this investigation.
“Our role at the time of these arrests was to help ensure that Whanau and household members directly impacted by the arrests were well-supported,” he says.
“This involved working alongside our partner agencies to provide them the ongoing support they needed, and to help ensure any further harm and offending was minimised.”
This work is still ongoing, in the form of the Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) programme, which was launched in Southland in 2023.
It brings together a range of agencies such as mana whenua, NGO providers, community representatives, Police, and those with lived experience of harm from organised crime.
Other matters in relation to this operation are still before the courts.
Image credit: Tingey Injury Law Firm
Gangs = domestic terrorists. Ditto for politicians