The officer was discharged without conviction and granted permanent name suppression.
The case is one of a growing number of investigations into links between police staff and members of gangs or organised criminal figures in recent years.
New Zealand’s reputation as a country largely free from corruption has long been a source of national pride and international credibility.
However, this perception has been undermined by a growing body of evidence, according to a group of experts advising the Government on how to tackle organised crime.
New Zealand had been naive to the threat of corruption and must act urgently to prevent further infiltration of democratic institutions and borders, a ministerial advisory group told Associate Police Minister Casey Costello in 2025.
Documents released to the Herald show the National Integrity Unit (NIU), a specialist group of senior detectives, investigated 10 cases of inappropriate links between police and organised crime figures.
One of the cases, known as Operation Everest, which led to a criminal prosecution, was the discovery of the police officer living with the King Cobras member in Auckland.
Another was Operation Comet.
In 2023, a patched Comanchero gang member was arrested for supplying methamphetamine and other drugs throughout the Wellington region.
During a search of the Comanchero’s cellphone, the police found a screenshot of a Facebook message that said:
“Sup cuz, they still tracking because of that operation I was telling u about, they seen him in [redacted] on last Tuesday drive a [redacted] and then again on Sunday up near [redacted] on Sunday and pulled him over. But besides that nothing else just always keeping a look out for him.”
The Comancheros motorcycle gang has featured regularly in corruption investigations involving police staff. Photo / Supplied
The message was traced to a police employee who had made unauthorised searches on the National Intelligence Application (NIA) – the police computer system.
An audit of the employee’s NIA history showed he looked at intelligence notes about the Comanchero being stopped by police in August 2022.
The police employee passed that information to an associate, who in turn shared the screenshot with the Comanchero.
This sensitive information on a live operation helped the Comanchero who, simply by being aware of the investigation, was able to take countermeasures to thwart the police.
“This in turn benefits the defendant and his standing with [the Comanchero],” court documents say.
In an interview with police, the staff member admitted passing the information to his associate, although he stated he was unaware it would end up in the hands of the Comanchero member.
He pleaded guilty to accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and was sentenced to 6 months’ community detention.
The employee was also granted permanent name suppression.
The police released short summaries of five other investigations that did not reach the evidential threshold for prosecution.
One was a police employee who was associating with an organised criminal group and allegedly trading information for drugs.
Another was an employee who was in a sexual relationship with a convicted criminal and sharing NIA information.
Both employees resigned during the investigation.
The police declined to release information on three NIU investigations because the cases were either before the courts or going through an employment process.
One of those was Shalom Vai Aleni, 23, who was working as a constable when she received a message from an old school friend.
The friend’s brother – an associate of the Comancheros – had been arrested after being caught with methamphetamine, cocaine and cash.
Aleni made numerous searches on NIA about the friend’s brother.
She later discussed the sensitive information with her friend by text and Instagram message, plus phone calls.
After sharing the information, Aleni asked the friend to delete their messages “just in case”.
She has since resigned from the police and pleaded guilty to accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose.
Detective Superintendent Kylie Schaare, the director in charge of integrity and conduct, said integrity was a core value for police that demands constant attention.
“Recent investigations into leaks of sensitive information to gang members and organised criminal groups highlight the reality of insider threats,” Schaare said.
“These actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety of our communities, our staff, and the trust that is essential for policing to be effective.
“While these cases are rare, they serve as a reminder that vigilance is not optional, it is a responsibility we all share.”
Summer Smith, 32, a former police constable, pleaded guilty on charges relating to leaking information to her boyfriend, who was a gang member. Photo / Supplied
‘Insider threats’
Police revealed the existence of the 10 cases in response to questions about a rookie constable who leaked police intelligence to her gang-member boyfriend.
Summer Moana Pearl Smith joined the police in March 2022 and was posted to Auckland after completing the 20-week recruitment training course at Police College.
However, Smith was already in a secret relationship with a member of the Killer Beez motorcycle gang.
The pair had met on the Tinder dating app before she joined the police.
She had leaked confidential information to her gangster boyfriend, who was later arrested after a covert investigation into a 265kg drug shipment.
He was charged with importing methamphetamine, supplying the Class A drug and participating in an organised criminal group, and laundering more than $1 million cash.
As a result, the police searched his phone and uncovered the messages with Smith.
When confronted by NIU detectives in September 2023, Smith confessed to everything.
“I basically fell in love with this f***en gangster dude … I fell for a guy that’s just not the right person.”
She resigned from the police and was later charged with corrupt use of official information, accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and possession of cocaine.
Smith pleaded guilty in October and will be sentenced in 2026.
For years, law enforcement in New Zealand has warned about the growing risk of corruption driven by organised crime.
A report by the expert panel advising Minister Costello recommended establishing a central authority to manage reporting and investigation of corruption, modernising out-of-date laws, longer prison sentences and stronger vetting of employees in high-risk industries as part of a national anti-corruption strategy.
“Compromised police officers, immigration officials and private-sector employees in our ports and airports have facilitated drug smuggling, leaked sensitive information and undermined the integrity of our border system,” the group’s report published in June says.
“These vulnerabilities are not incidental – organised crime groups actively cultivate them … if left unchecked, this cycle will erode the integrity of New Zealand’s institutions and undermine our collective security.”
Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006, and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland, Gangster’s Paradise and Underworld.