{"id":362333,"date":"2026-04-03T19:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/362333\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T19:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:20:09","slug":"gang-member-records-rap-lyrics-for-songs-while-behind-bars-serving-drug-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/362333\/","title":{"rendered":"Gang member records rap lyrics for songs while behind bars serving drug sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"

He has featured in five music videos posted to YouTube over the past six months, each with at least 50,000 views. The most recent went online just last month.<\/p>\n

In total, the songs have also been streamed more than 100,000 times on Spotify. <\/p>\n

The Department of Corrections has confirmed staff are now investigating the music videos \u201cthat appear to use the voice of a prisoner\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rosemary Firth, the general manager of Waikeria Prison, said no contraband – such as a smuggled cellphone – was found when the prisoner\u2019s cell was searched.<\/p>\n

The case also raises the possibility that the inmate recited the lyrics to an associate, who recorded the vocals, over the prison payphone system.<\/p>\n

These conversations are also recorded by Corrections and subject to random monitoring. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it is possible the audio used in these videos has been obtained and distributed by a third party recording a phone call, we are continuing to investigate this matter as a priority,\u201d Firth said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate that any audio of prisoners available online can be of concern to people, and we\u2019re sorry for any distress caused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firth said any prisoners found to be in breach of the prison rules will be held to account. <\/p>\n

Any internal misconduct charges could lead to disciplinary action such as being placed in a \u201cmanagement unit\u201d, or having privileges revoked.<\/p>\n

The case raises fresh concerns about the apparent ease with which prisoners can access cell phones while behind bars, to either post on social media<\/a> or carry out criminal activity.<\/p>\n

Last week, the Herald revealed how a pair of inmates<\/a> were allegedly able to smuggle large amounts of drugs into New Zealand through a network of corrupt workers at Auckland Airport<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The two gang members have been charged with importing methamphetamine, in 25kg amounts, twice while behind bars.<\/p>\n

The police allege the underworld figures were able to orchestrate these drug shipments with cellphones smuggled inside prison,<\/p>\n

The problem stretches back for decades. <\/p>\n

\" The senior Head Hunter gang member whose vocals feature in popular rap songs posted online, despite currently being a prison inmate, is depicted by a balaclava-clad actor in the accompanying music videos. Photo \/ Supplied.<\/p>\n

The most high-profile example was Operation Web<\/a>, a covert investigation in 2008, which exposed a group of notorious criminals working together to run a drug syndicate from inside the maximum security prison in Paremoremo.<\/p>\n

In another notorious case, a prominent underworld figure was sentenced to life imprisonment<\/a> last year for masterminding a plot to smuggle nearly 200kg of methamphetamine through the border. <\/p>\n

The gang member, who cannot be identified because of interim suppression orders, also used a smuggled cellphone to give instructions to his crew outside the prison walls. <\/p>\n

He was already in prison for his role in another massive drug importation.<\/p>\n

Stopping contraband, such as cellphones, is a \u201ctop priority\u201d according to Sean Mason, the Commissioner for Custodial Services at Corrections.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome prisoners go to extreme and elaborate lengths to introduce contraband into prison. Contraband may be concealed on a prisoner\u2019s body when they come into the prison, posted in with mail or property, thrown over perimeter fencing, or smuggled into the prison by visitors,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n

\" The senior Head Hunter gang member whose vocals feature in popular rap songs posted online, despite currently being a prison inmate, is depicted by a balaclava-clad actor in the accompanying music videos. Photo \/ Supplied.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes prisoners place a significant amount of pressure on their partners, friends or associates to risk attempting to bring contraband into prison for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corrections staff worked hard to stop contraband, Mason said, as well as trying to \u201cstay one step ahead\u201d of any new methods.<\/p>\n

This included searching people and vehicles entering prison grounds, using scanners and x-ray machines at entry points, \u201cextensive\u201d perimeter security, camera surveillance in visiting rooms, checking mail, monitoring of phone calls, sniffer dogs and banning visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorrections works closely with Police and Customs to disrupt gang influence and organised crime activity in both prisons and our communities,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Paradise and Underworld.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He has featured in five music videos posted to YouTube over the past six months, each with at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6128,4057,190633,3401,156,2082,1328,305,46323,2190,40813,44406,1329,157,111,139,69,1642,10903,8442,45396,4917,1974,9090,2437,5763,74908,10890,4626,1361,8538,6123],"class_list":{"0":"post-362333","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-bars","9":"tag-behind","10":"tag-circumvent","11":"tag-drug","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-for","14":"tag-gang","15":"tag-have","16":"tag-influential","17":"tag-long","18":"tag-lyrics","19":"tag-managed","20":"tag-member","21":"tag-music","22":"tag-new-zealand","23":"tag-newzealand","24":"tag-nz","25":"tag-online","26":"tag-popular","27":"tag-prison","28":"tag-proven","29":"tag-rap","30":"tag-record","31":"tag-records","32":"tag-security","33":"tag-sentence","34":"tag-serving","35":"tag-smuggling","36":"tag-songs","37":"tag-that","38":"tag-videos","39":"tag-while"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362333","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=362333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}