Investigators
who have caught Hells Angels members for drugs, robbery and extortion
are now accusing them of a new crime - shooting deer illegally.
Nine
Auckland men with Hells Angels connections - five members and four
associates - were charged on Wednesday of intentional damage and
firearms charges over alleged illegal hunting in the Woodhill State
Forest, northwest of Auckland.
Police and the Organised and
Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (Ofcanz) who have been investigating
Hells Angels activities in the past two and a half years uncovered the
illegal deer hunting, Detective Inspector Grant Wormald said.
"There's
a herd of about 500 there and they can only be hunted through a ballot
system, and then only about 60 can be shot," Det Insp Wormald told NZN
on Wednesday.
"We are alleging that the people charged today shot at least that many."
The intentional damage charges are for the deer shooting.
The most dangerous thing about the activity was that it was happening at night, Det Insp Wormald said.
"We
don't have to look too far back in time to remember the tragic fatal
shooting of a young woman in a recreational forest near Turangi as a
result of someone hunting illegally at night," he said.
"The reason we say these people were hunting at night was to avoid detection."
The forest is a popular area close to Auckland used by trampers and mountain bikers.
Hells
Angels from around New Zealand have been convicted or are facing
charges ranging from possession and supply of methamphetamine to
robbery, burglary and extortion as a result of police investigations in
the past two and a half years.
"Our goal is to investigate the
crimes they are committing and disrupt their activities to the extent
that it's very hard for them to operate at all."
Though this
alleged activity was discovered as part of a gang inquiry, Mr Wormald
said police would take it just as seriously those charged didn't have
gang links.
NZN