GET OUT OF TOWN YOU MONGRELS
Govt declares war on Coast chapter of notorious Kiwi gang
A NOW outlawed gang are on the hunt for more members as the Mongrel Mob continues to grow on the Gold Coast, including building a clubhouse in a northern suburb.
Coomera has become ground zero for the push south for the Mongrel Mob who have been established in Eagleby for a number of years.
The notorious club has been a violent mainstay of the New Zealand underworld for more than 50 years with members linked to murder, rape, and drug production and distribution.
But this isn’t Wellington or Hastings. This is the Gold Coast.
A fully formed and thriving chapter of the Mongrel Mob has been operating in the city’s northern corridor for more than a year.
The gang has developed a growing membership base of patched, prospects and associates operating out of a backyard clubhouse.
Yesterday, Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath declared the Mongrel Mob an “identified organisation”, making it an offence for their members to wear their colours, among other laws.
Cocky Mongrel Mob members have recently taken to social media to flaunt their clubhouse, believed to be in Coomera.
Social media posts show members throwing up their gang sign, a Shaka (extending the little finger and thumb, while closing the three middle fingers) and saluting.
The Mongrel Mob logo depicts a bulldog with a spiked chain around its neck, wearing a helmet. Some even have the SS logo on it, one of the most powerful and feared organisations in the Nazi regime and largely responsible for carrying out the Holocaust during World War II.
Throughout a number of written posts members use the Nazi-inspired salute “Sieg Heil” and there are numerous usages of the swastika.
It is believed the helmet, the salute, the use of the swastika and even the cry of “Sieg Heil” are not meant to be antisemitic or racist, but were used as a shock tactic when the gang first sprang up in New Zealand in the 1960s and have been mainstays of the club since.
It would be contradictory to the predominantly Maori membership to follow Nazi beliefs.
Sources have told The Gold Coast Bulletin the group has been on a membership drive, branching out to try to recruit young Aboriginal men and other New Zealanders in an attempt to grow the gang’s footprint on the Coast.
It is not known how many members there are on the Coast, but it is understood they have strong connections to the Brisbane chapter and a welldeveloped chapter in Melbourne.
Several police sources said they had been aware of the Mongrel Mob’s activities on the Coast and now with the gang declared an “identified organisation”, they will have the power to go after them.
It is believed police have become concerned about the gang’s violent behaviour out of state and across the Tasman.
Police are concerned the growing faction on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane will follow in the footsteps of established chapters that have dabbled in murder, robbery, standover tactics and an array of other criminal behaviour.
Historically, the Mongrel Mob have had a strong contingent in Logan, around the Eagleby area, although with a growing New Zealand and Pacific Islander population in suburbs such as Coomera and Pacific Pines, they have begun to spread south.
It is understood the Gold Coast chapter has strong ties to the birthplace of the gang, the Hastings and Waikato areas.
A number of Coomera locals, too frightened to be named, told the Gold Coast Bulletin they had seen a growing increase in Mongrel Mob activity and members in their community.
Many of them parents, they fear their teenage sons will be dragged into the organisation that promotes itself as a community group and brotherhood for young men.
The Organised Crime Gangs Group operations commander, Detective Superintendent Roger Lowe, said police would use every legal mechanism available to dismantle and disrupt organised crime gangs operating in Queensland.
“This legislation has restricted the ability of gangs to create a climate of fear and intimidation in the community through the deliberate statement of membership attached to club colours,” Det Supt Lowe said.
“The declaration of the Mongrel Mob as an identified organisation is about addressing and preventing violent, criminal and anti-social behaviour of gangs.
“The implication for Mongrel Mob is now they cannot wear their colours or logos in public.
“The Queensland Police Service is committed to pursuing illegal activity of members of organised crime groups and gang members right across the state.”