Gang leader says ‘do the right thing’

A prominent gang leader has hit out at the country’s top cop – insisting there are gang members willing to surrender guns.

On Thursday, Police Commissioner Mike Bush revealed 115 influential gang leaders had been identified and police had spoken to 53 of them about how they were managing the gun amnesty, which ends on December 20.

President of the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom Chapter Sonny Fatupaito confirmed he was one of the leaders police approached.

He had a cup of coffee in a local cafe and was asked if he understood what was going on and if the gang was willing to do what was needed.

‘‘I kinda felt like it was a passive aggressive approach.’’

After the meeting, he relayed to all Kingdom members that there were new laws in place and there was a deadline.

He said he did not micromanage men but advised them to ‘‘do the right thing’’. If they were in possession of firearms and chose not to comply and got caught, they had to own that.

The Kingdom, which had hundreds of members, would do its bit, he said.

‘‘We don’t want the wrong people to have semi-automatics in their hands, who want to shoot people up.’’

He did not carry guns but was aware of some members who had surrendered their firearms.

‘‘I also stated I hoped that they would all abide by this act and I leave it up to their personal discretion, but they know my personal stance, to have no weapons of any sort around me or any Kingdom events.’’

Bush has said communication lines with the senior patched gang members had shown they were very reluctant to be part of the law and he did not believe many patched gang members had handed in their guns.

His comments drew the ire of Fatupaito, the head of one of New Zealand’s largest gang chapters.

The police approach could be better and gangs were still ‘‘oppressed’’, he said. If police wanted better results from gangs, they had to change their attitude, he said.

The cup of coffee was a sign of mutual respect and so he was more than willing to comply.

Black Power life member Denis O’Reilly said his gang had met with Deputy Commissioner Wally Haumaha and other senior officers.

Not all gang members had guns under their car seats, he said.

Gang members who were pro social did not have guns but members involved in organised crime, would have guns as a protection.

‘‘If you are involved in the meth trade, there is probably a gun nearby.’’

Police had a right to be cynical and play devil’s advocate but he urged them not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement said Fatupaito had a ‘‘great attitude’’ in trying to persuade members to comply.

‘‘I hope that all of those senior gang leaders that police are approaching share that view because it would make for a vastly different environment.’’

It would be almost impossible to keep track of how many guns were handed in by gang members because it was ‘‘a no questions asked’’ amnesty.

He had modest expectations around the success of gangs handing in guns, but would try anyway.

Police Minister Stuart Nash said cops had kept him briefed on their efforts to communicate with representatives of gangs about the amnesty.

Last month Stuff revealed there was a flashy new breed of suited gangster and Nash planned to increase police powers to target the criminal kingpins.

He was looking at a review of the Crimes Act and proceeds of crime laws, that will go after gang hierarchy and bring a paper on Firearm Prohibition Orders (FPOs) to Cabinet soon, which aims to keep guns out of the hands of gangs.

We don’t want the wrong people to have semi-automatics in their hands, who want to shoot people up. Sonny Fatupaito