Over $2.4 million has been seized in assets belonging to the Tribal Huk gang following a police bust of a cannabis drug ring in Hamilton, authorities said today.
According to police, the collection by the Waikato and Bay of Plenty asset recovery unit came in response to an operation targeting the sale and supply of the drug.
Property and shares seized were linked to a senior member of the Tribal Huk gang and his associate, police allege. A 49-year-old man has been arrested and charged with possession of cannabis during the operation.
Detective Senior Sergent Keith Kay says members of the gang have had a long association with the sale and distribution of the drug throughout the Waikato region over the past few years.
Between 2017 and 2019, there have been eight police raids of properties linked to the Tribal Huk, with cannabis being located on each occasion, police said. Gang members or associates have also been arrested and charged with drug-related offences at each of these raids, according to police.
"Organised crime is all about the money, and police are focused on targeting the proceeds of that crime. When criminals are deprived of their ill-gotten assets this also impacts on their influence on the community," Mr Kay said.
In the past 18 months, $124 million in assets have been seized nationwide by police with roughly 80 per cent of all retained assets stemming from "drugs, gangs and organised crime", according to authorities.
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