{"id":120539,"date":"2025-11-06T05:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T05:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/120539\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T05:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T05:52:08","slug":"rotorua-police-make-arrests-after-tangi-for-ex-gang-leader-jeffrey-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/120539\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotorua Police make arrests after tangi for ex-gang leader Jeffrey Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ngawhika said in a media release this evening that police were \u201cdisappointed that a small number of people needed to be arrested\u201d after the tangi.<\/p>\n

He said police had an increased visible presence across Rotorua due to the tangi to ensure the wider community\u2019s safety. <\/p>\n

They had been working with the wh\u0101nau to ensure a safe precession today, and police were happy with how most attendees behaved.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, a small number of people took today as an opportunity to display poor road behaviours which resulted in Police action needing to be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charges laid ranged from traffic offences to possession of an offensive weapon. Police issued 20 infringement notices, impounded four vehicles and ordered a fifth off the road.<\/p>\n

\"RotoruaRotorua Police area commander Inspector Herby Ngawhika. Photo \/ Andrew Warner<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing because Police and wh\u0101nau had worked well together and a small number of people had taken away from the tangi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ngawhika said police would explore further enforcement action as CCTV and phone evidence was examined and offenders identified.<\/p>\n

He said it was the job of police to stop people acting in a way that encroached on others\u2019 safety, and they would continue their \u201chighly visible presence\u201d this evening.<\/p>\n

He thanked motorists for their patience and understanding on the roads today. <\/p>\n

Anyone who saw unlawful activity was urged to contact police.<\/p>\n

From gang boss to \u2018role model\u2019<\/p>\n

Gear left the Filthy Few<\/a> after being caught up in a major drug smuggling operation involving Tauranga offenders and a Mexican cartel.<\/p>\n

It was described as a turning point in his life at his sentencing in March 2023.<\/p>\n

He faced a potential maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but instead was given 11 months\u2019 home detention.<\/p>\n

Justice Matthew Palmer described him during sentencing as someone who was now a \u201crole model and a leader\u201d after handing in his patch and getting clean of drugs.<\/p>\n

Gear was one of eight people arrested in Operation Tarpon.<\/p>\n

Others included Maurice Oliver Swinton from Te Puke, a Port of Tauranga stevedore who was jailed for two years and nine months<\/a> for his role as an \u201cinside man\u201d in a plot to smuggle 200kg of cocaine from a Mexican cartel into New Zealand in a shipping container.<\/p>\n

During Gear\u2019s sentencing, it was revealed his father introduced him to methamphetamine and he smoked it every day for 25 years until 2023.<\/p>\n

He became involved in gangs and, after being a member of the Filthy Few in Rotorua for 10 years, became the gang\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

But his arrest in 2021 saw him hand in his patch and start extensive rehabilitation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ngawhika said in a media release this evening that police were \u201cdisappointed that a small number of people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[74,12635,31746,17436,84896,1342,5504,2082,1328,24387,84897,52211,53766,13489,1362,5812,111,43,139,84898,69,675,1327,312,58366,1865],"class_list":["post-120539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-after","tag-area","tag-arrests","tag-commander","tag-exgang","tag-five","tag-following","tag-for","tag-gang","tag-gear","tag-herby","tag-inspector","tag-jeffrey","tag-leader","tag-made","tag-make","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-ngawhika","tag-nz","tag-police","tag-rotorua","tag-says","tag-tangi","tag-today"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}