User:Yellowstir/sandbox

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Organised Crime in New Zealand[edit]

Organised Crime are crimes that are carried out on a large scale typically designed and measured by larger groups or syndicates[1]. Organised Crime in New Zealand includes drug trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking and more.

List of Criminal Enterprises and Gangs[edit]

Towards the end of the 1950s around 58 gangs were reported in New Zealand and known to police, 41 were located in Auckland and 17 were in Wellington. The four key groups were the Head Hunters, Mongrel Mob, Black Power and Stormtroopers.

The Head Hunters are an outlaw motorcycle gang in New Zealand based mainly around East Auckland, their criminal history spans over 1000 criminal convictions and have over 110 members. Wayne Doyle is the current head of the organisation and they are firmly embedded society and widely known as one of the most respected gangs. Drug and Violence are the main features of their criminal activities and members have also been involved in a few murder investigations and charges. The Head Hunters are also a key group responsible for the spread of Methamphetamine now the most popular illicit substance in New Zealand. Doyle introduced 'The Fight Club' brand in an effort to shake the criminal perception of the gang from the public. Police officers are invited to participate and draw the raffle and the evening raises money for charity whilst showcasing new talent[2].

Mongrel Mob is a street based gang based off more than thirty chapters and primarily resides in King Country, Opotiki, Waikato and Hastings. Their current head quarters is in Queensland, Australia and several other quarters across both New Zealand and Australia. They have been involved in several incidents of Organised Crime including, Operation Crusade (2001), Operation Walnut (2016) and Operation Notus (2017). All of these police operations involved targeting drug crusades focussed upon cannabis, methamphetamine, and cocaine. In 2019, Mongrel Mob is an active gang and still has regular patching ceremony's across New Zealand[3].

A key member of the New Zealand gang culture and have also been involved in drug trafficking and dealing cases. Has been involved in several physical and sexual assault cases but has distanced themselves from almost all of them. Mongrel Mob and Black Power have been notorious enemies since the 1980s however, in recent years the head of Mongrel Mob, Sonny Fatu, has suggested that Black Power and Mongrel Mob join up in order to rebel against recent Australian laws to deport New Zealand citizens found to be members of gangs[4].

Activities and Timeline of Events[edit]

Drug Trafficking[edit]

Cannabis was the most popular drug in 2013, before methamphetamine took control of the market

Drug trafficking in New Zealand has grown since Britain established it as a colony. The Maori, the original owners of the land hadn’t been exposed to drugs until the British colonisers introduced them. The timeline below follows the impact that drugs have had in society.

  • 1901 - 1927 - First Drug Laws Introduced
  • 1940s - New Zealand announced as having the highest per capita use of Heroin in the world
  • 1975 - The Misuse of Drugs Act introduced and targeted dealers and those dispatching drugs
    • Mr Asia - introduced importers, packagers, distributers and users
  • 1980s - Designer Drugs introduced
  • 1990s - Methamphetamine introduced into the market
  • 2000s - Party pills such as MDMA, Ketamine and LSD are popularised
  • 2013 - Parliament legalises party pills
  • 2014 - Parliament bans party pills
  • 2015 - Global Drug Study found that cannabis (32.5%) was more popular to smoke than tobacco (30.1%).[5]

New Zealand is amongst the highest rates in world for drug abuse.  Around 44% of adults will try an illegal drug across their life and 93% will try alcohol[6]. The members of society that regularly participate in these illegal activities can have severe impacts such as a variety of health problems, personal and social problems and could ultimately und up fatal, around $1.8 Billion is the annual social cost of illicit drug related harm. Methamphetamine is the most popular illicit substance used in New Zealand as of April 2019 with around $500 million being spent on the drug each year and around 16 kg were consumed in the months of November, December and January in 2018[7]. Prior to this, the common illicit drug used in New Zealand is cannabis. In 2013, 11% of adults aged 15 years and older reported to using cannabis in the past year with 15% of the subjects being men and 8% being women[8].

Terrorism[edit]

Main article: Terrorism in New Zealand

According to the United Nations terrorism uses violence or threats in order to risk lives of civilians and to make a statement about a particular cause of action[9]. In recent years, terrorist attacks have been the result of religious conflicts or often act as protests towards a particular cause. Some notable incidents consist of the Vietnam War Protests, The Rainbow Warrier Bombing and the Christchurch Mosque attacks.

  • Vietnam War Protests

Several service men and women were led by the Band of the Royal Navy Artillery, although the march was uneventful the end of the event bombs and artillery were fired into the crowd and red paint was spurted everywhere to symbolise the lives lost in Vietnam[10].

The Rainbow Warrior was a Green-Peace ship that was involved in the Anti-Nuclear movement. Greenpeace's plan was to use the ship in a protest against France's nuclear testing so in July of 1985 two bombs went off below deck of the ship killing a crew member. Although the attack was against the organisation, since it was in New Zealand the distinction was not made and hindered New Zealand and French relations for around a year. Consequences included, the loss of two lives, France threatening to cut New Zealand off from the European Economic Community and New Zealand boycotting deals with France. The United Nations stepped in 1986 in which as deal was made that the French would apologise and pay $13 million to New Zealand to compensate for the damage[11].

The Christchurch Mosque Shootings of March 2019 was New Zealand's largest terrorist attack and resulted in 51 casualties[12]. The attack was undertaken by Brendan H. Tarrant an Australian man that had been up for countless murder charges as well[13]. The shootings resulted in several days of mourning for the country and its victims families and New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern was commended for her empathetic response[14].

Human Trafficking[edit]

Main Article: Human Trafficking in New Zealand

Human trafficking is taking people across the border without coercion or without their consent which is different to people smuggling[15]. New Zealand have experienced a few accounts of human trafficking in the past years, in 2004 the United States identified New Zealand has a destination for possible illegal activities primarily human trafficking and several incidents lead and followed this claim[16].

Incidents kept recurring such as a women escaping from a brothel in 2001 and claiming that she was paid $10,000 to be a prostitute failing on the promises she received saying she would be a waitress in a restaurant. A similar incident occurred in 2014 with immigrant workers except on a more major scale[17]. In 2018 it was confirmed by the Trafficking in Person's report that several women from Asian and South American decent face the risk of sex trafficking in New Zealand[18]. Overseas sex workers are being told that in New Zealand you have the possibility to be making $1000 a day which is continue to draw the market closer and closer to country[19].

Legislative Responses[edit]

Response to Drug Trafficking[edit]

New Zealand's first publicised response to drug trafficking was implementing the Misuse of Drugs Act in 1975, however the act is very reflective of the time when drugs such as cocaine, opiates and psychedelics such as LSD[20]. The Act has been revised and several points in history, in October 2010 the act was revised in order to align with the governments Methamphetamine action plan, as it had become the most popular drug in the country[21].

According to the National Organised Crime Group drugs have been classified into three different categories regarding to impact and severity of the risk. The classifications of drugs depend on the penalty when caught interacting with them. The possession of a Class A drug could lead to 6 months imprisonment and/or a $1000 fine whereas the manufacture of a Class A drug could result in life imprisonment[22].

National Organised Crime Group - Drug Classification [23]
Class A Class B Class C
Risk Very High High Moderate
Illicit Substance Methamphetamine

Magic Mushrooms

Cocaine

Heroin

LSD

Cannabis Oil

Hashish

Morphine

Opium

Ecstasy

Many amphetamine-type substances

Cannabis seed

Cannabis plant

Codeine

Flag of New Zealand

The classifications have been changed throughout the years. The current Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden in December 2018 passed a bill to legalise marijuana for terminally ill patients. The Misuse of Drugs (Medical Cannabis) Amendment Bill will benefit several patients that are suffering from unbearable pain[24].

Response to Terrorism[edit]

Terrorism Suppression Act 2002[edit]

Main article: Terrorism Suppression Act 2002

The Terrorism Suppression Act in 2002 was in response to the September 11 attacks in New York. New Zealand, has always been considered a safe country that hasn't had to consider terrorism as a threat to them. May 2019 was the first time the act had to be put into use and it forced the current government to consider amendments that needed to be made[25]. 2007 was the first time amendments were discuss and implemented during the 2007 New Zealand police raids this was due to reports of a paramilitary camp on the north island.

Response to the Christchurch Mosque Attacks[edit]

Jacinda Arden was commended for a compassionate and empathetic response to the Christchurch mosque attacks. Social Media played a key role in the attack as it was broadcasted across various platforms which has now encouraged many world leaders to consider introducing stricter laws around the use of social media and the effect that it has on communities[26]. Arden's response of solidarity was shown through visiting the victims families and wearing a hijab to show her support for the muslim community in Christchurch. The immediate response involved police arriving around 10 minutes after the first shot was fired and continue to provide support to the citizens of the area throughout the distressing time[27].

New Zealand's gun laws are going under review from the government as they are likely going to become stricter over who can legally hold a gun license. 1.3 million New Zealand citizens legally own guns however, it is expected that it will become illegal to have militaristic rifles of all types[28].

Response to Human Trafficking[edit]

Although it took around 12 years since New Zealand was first declared a hotspot for trafficking New Zealand is a member of the Bali Process where several countries share any irregular process of migration in order to gain control of situations before they become major issues[29]. Several arrests have been made for individuals that have been found to be involved in trafficking[30], however although New Zealand does meet the minimum standards required for human trafficking most of the methods they use are preventative and the United States have suggested that they introduce harsher punishments for those involved[31].

New Zealand has also signed several international treaties surrounding stopping trafficking, protecting human rights and lots involving acknowledging the risk that women and children are in when it comes to trafficking, and the law suggests that anyone involved in trafficking will be criminalised and face a range of consequences[32]

Media Representation and Popular Culture Influences[edit]

Social Media and the Christchurch Mosque Attacks[edit]

Social Media has increasingly played a more prominent role in acts of terror and spreading extremist groups ideals. The Christchurch mosque attacks were live streamed across the social media platform of Facebook and was quickly shared across the site. The shooter was able to live stream the attacks from a first person response completely destroying the privacy of the victims and sharing inappropriate footage to the world, this is technically called a performance crime[33]. Facebook's response was highlighted across various mediums however, once the initial video was taken down the video had already been spread to various other mediums[34].

The Media's Involvement in the Gangs of New Zealand[edit]

Various media platforms have posted articles that have explored the stories and histories of gangs such as 'Black Power' and 'Mongrel Mob'. Often these articles are sources of conflict between the two gangs and can be known to have heightened disagreements that have resulted in physical outbursts in the past. The media has also been an asset to getting the gangs message out to the public and humanising them. Recently, several article have been posted in regards to the Mongrel Mob and Black Power to join forced in protest to Australia's new laws to deport New Zealand born Australians[35].

  1. ^ "Organized crime", Wikipedia, 2019-05-15, retrieved 2019-05-15
  2. ^ david.fisher@nzherald.co.nz, David Fisher Senior writer, NZ Herald (2018-06-06). "The Big Read: Inside the Head Hunters gang". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-05-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Gang 'intimidates', 'shocks' tourists". NewsComAu. 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  4. ^ "Mongrel Mob, Black Power should join forces to repel invaders, gang leader says". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  5. ^ "A history of New Zealand's recreational drug use". Newshub. 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  6. ^ "Drug Use in NZ". www.drugfoundation.org.nz. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  7. ^ jared.savage@nzherald.co.nz @jaredsavageNZH, Jared Savage Investigative reporter, NZ Herald (2019-04-30). "Methamphetamine still the drug of choice in New Zealand according to new police data from national wastewater testing". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-05-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Cannabis Use 2012/13: New Zealand Health Survey". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  9. ^ "Untitled Document". www.un.org. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  10. ^ "Anti-Vietnam War protests in Auckland | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  11. ^ "Sinking the Rainbow Warrior - Nuclear-free New Zealand | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  12. ^ "The Death Toll From New Zealand's Mass Shooting Just Rose to 51". Time. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  13. ^ Graham-McLay, Charlotte (2019-05-21). "Man Accused in Christchurch Mosque Shootings Now Faces Terrorism Charge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  14. ^ "Meet 'Extraordinary' New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: The First Woman to Give Birth in Office". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  15. ^ "People trafficking | Immigration New Zealand". www.immigration.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  16. ^ olivia.carville@nzherald.co.nz @livcarville, Olivia Carville Investigative reporter, NZ Herald (2016-09-21). "Exposed: The dark underbelly of human trafficking in New Zealand". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-06-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ olivia.carville@nzherald.co.nz @livcarville, Olivia Carville Investigative reporter, NZ Herald (2016-09-21). "Exposed: The dark underbelly of human trafficking in New Zealand". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-06-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ lincoln.tan@nzherald.co.nz @LincolnTanNZH, Lincoln Tan Lincoln Tan is the New Zealand Herald’s diversity, ethnic affairs and immigration senior reporter (2018-06-28). "NZ identified as destination country for labour and sex trafficking". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-06-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ lincoln.tan@nzherald.co.nz @LincolnTanNZH, Lincoln Tan Lincoln Tan is the New Zealand Herald’s diversity, ethnic affairs and immigration senior reporter (2018-04-15). "Exposed: Human trafficking happening right here in NZ". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2019-06-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Gunasekara, Sanji (August 2010). "Drug Law Reform: Lessons from the New Zealand Experience" (PDF). Transnational Institute: 1–3.
  21. ^ "Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 | Law Commission". www.lawcom.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  22. ^ "Illicit drugs – offences and penalties". New Zealand Police. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  23. ^ "Illicit drugs – offences and penalties". New Zealand Police. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  24. ^ Bostock, Bill (2018-12-12). "New Zealand is about to relax its marijuana laws, and it could lead to total legalization". Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  25. ^ "Terrorism Suppression Amendment Bill - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  26. ^ Dalzell, political reporter Stephanie (2019-03-26). "Moves to punish execs who allow terrorists to 'weaponise' social media". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  27. ^ "Timeline of police response to New Zealand mosque attacks". News24. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  28. ^ Battersby, John. "Why overhauling NZ's gun and terrorism laws alone can't stop terrorist attacks". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  29. ^ Trade, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and. "People smuggling and human trafficking". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  30. ^ Monday; December 2018, 17; NZ, 10:08 am Press Release: Immigration. "Man arrested for human trafficking and slavery | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2019-06-05. {{cite web}}: |first2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ "NZ meets 'minimum standards' on human trafficking but US calls for tougher penalities". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  32. ^ Armstrong, Rebeka (8 July 2013). "An Assessment of New Zealand's Response to Human Trafficking" (PDF). Master of Laws at the University of Auckland.
  33. ^ Bender, Stuart M. "Social media create a spectacle society that makes it easier for terrorists to achieve notoriety". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  34. ^ Klonick, Kate (2019-04-25). "Inside the Team at Facebook That Dealt with the Christchurch Shooting". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  35. ^ "Black Power, Mongrel Mob in talks to form anti-Australia gang coalition". Newshub. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
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