Mobster died week after police seizure

A senior Mongrel Mob member died in a suspected suicide just a week after having cars and property seized by police and as he was expecting to face serious drug charges.

By some accounts, John Joseph Morrell was a loving husband and father of five, a valued member of his community and respected for taking care of friends.

He was also allegedly involved in dealing methamphetamine.

Morrell, 34, was the Mongrel Mob leader buried at a huge tangi in Hastings last month, but he has not been identified until now because of an interim non-publication order imposed by a coroner at his family’s request.

Morrell, who was known as ‘‘Triple J’’, died in a suspected suicide at his Flaxmere home on May 21. His death is the subject of an inquiry by coroner Mark Wilton.

His death occurred a week after police seized numerous assets and made six arrests in the culmination of an 18-month investigation into organised crime, named ‘‘Operation Dusk’’.

Police seized $2 million in assets, including a 2020 Range Rover, classic cars, two trucks, four Harley-Davidson motorbikes, jewellery, a boat and two jet skis. They also recovered 14 firearms, ammunition, illicit drugs and large quantities of cash.

Morrell was not one of the six people arrested initially, but a memorandum submitted to the coroner on behalf of Morrell’s family revealed that five properties associated with Morrell were seized by police, as were cars and bank accounts.

While he had not been charged at the time of his death, the memorandum showed that his lawyer ‘‘anticipated ... that criminal charges relating to the supply of methamphetamine would follow in due course’’.

The coroner made the interim nonpublication order and invited submissions from Stuff, which opposed the continuation of the order.

It was submitted on behalf of the wha¯ nau that they should be able to grieve and that the children would be exposed to media coverage that could harm their wellbeing.

The coroner said that if an order for nonpublication could be justified solely on the basis of grief or general concern about the impacts of publication, then ‘‘virtually every death in the Coroners Court would be the subject of such orders’’.

He decided the interim non-publication orders would lapse at 5pm yesterday and said the family had the right to appeal this decision to the High Court.