13 arrests in police raid

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 4

13 arrests in police raid

The police rounded up 13 Mongrel Mob and Black Power gang members and seized a big cache of weapons on Saturday after a stabbing incident last week at the United Service Hotel.

About 50 policemen, including members of the armed offenders squad, raided four gang houses in St Albans and Hoon Hay at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Among the weapons seized were a machine pistol, a crossbow, Molotov cocktails, knives, axes, and several firearms. The man who led the raid, Inspector Mel Griebel, said that nine men and four women were arrested, and all would appear in the District Court today. Two of the men are charged with possession of cannabis, one woman is charged with obstructing the police, and the rest charged with possession of firearms. The raid came after a build-up of tension between the two gangs after the stabbing last Tuesday of Debra Rosemary Manuel, also known as Debbie Paul. Mr Griebel said that Mrs Paul had been an associate of the Mongrel Mob, and the woman charged with her murder was a Black Power gang member. Mrs Paul’s alleged assail-

ant appeared in the District Court on Wednesday, and was remanded for a psychiatric examination to April 17, having been granted interim suppression of name. A man, aged 21, whose name was also suppressed, was remanded without plea until today on a charge of being a party to murder when he appeared in court -on Saturday. Police with long batons searched about 15 Black Power gang members and separated them from the rest of the public gallery at Saturday’s court appearance.

Mr Griebel said the police had received information from various sources that the gangs would clash. Two shots were fired from a gang house in St Albans on Friday, although nobody was hurt.

Among those arrested were the leaders of both gangs.

After the arrests, a truce was made after a conference between the two leaders and the South Island

director of the Maori Affairs Department, Mr Bill Edwards. “As a result of the conference, the gang leaders agreed that there would be no more violence. If this does not work, we have other methods we will use,” said Mr Griebel He declined to elaborate on what those methods were.

Several reinforcements of both gangs had come to Christchurch from throughout New Zealand, he said. Some had come in a minibus from Dunedin, and others from Hastings. About 75 Mongrel Mob members had driven from Wellington yesterday. Mr Edwards said yesterday that he had been assured that the truce between the two gangs would hold, although he could not predict what would happen.

“Both leaders seemed to think that they were not wanting trouble, but influences had built up outside their control.” He said that both leaders

claimed their gangs had accumulated weapons for self-defence.

“Both sides said they did not want to hassle each other, but sometimes it was difficult to control the actions of their members.”

The department would give the gangs every encouragement to improve their image, and would try to arrange work contracts for them. Yet they had to act within the law, said Mr Edwards.

“If they want to have gangs, they have to act responsibly. There is no compromise — they cannot take the law into their own hands.” The Government and the community were tired of the negative image associated with gangs. The department was trying to get closer to them, in order to understand them better.

“My department is going to give all the necessary support to direct the respective gangs into more positive ways of doing things,” Mr Edwards said.