Photo: RNZ/John Edens

THE the first arrest took place just three minutes after the law came into effect on Thursday, with police reporting that 12 people had been arrested on the first day of the new gang ban.

The new law, which bans gang patches in public places, came into effect shortly after midnight on Thursday.

Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham said there were multiple arrests and charges in the first 24 hours following the ban:

Meanwhile, gang members were already adapt their badges to circumvent the ban, while others warned against possible violence.

But the police and government insisted on the ban. will work and make things safer.

Waitemata

At 7:40 p.m., officers on foot patrol at the Henderson Night Markets saw a man wearing a sweatshirt with the headhunters’ insignia.

The 27-year-old man was arrested and charged.

He is due to appear in the Waitakere District Court on November 27.

Counties Manukau

At 10:35 a.m., officers patrolling the Papakura area saw a man outside a house in Rosehill wearing a Mangu Kaha crest.

The 51-year-old initially refused to hand over his badge to police, but eventually did so.

He was arrested and charged with displaying gang insignia in a public place.

He is due to appear before the Papakura District Court on November 28, 2024.

Meanwhile, police were called to Porchester Road, Takanini, at 1.40pm after a man wearing a gang patch stole a vehicle.

Officers found the vehicle nearby and then found the suspected perpetrator, a 51-year-old Mangu Kaha member in Ōtara.

Waikato

Hamilton police saw a man wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the Mongrel Mob insignia enter a fast food restaurant on Lynden Court at 2 p.m.

The 41-year-old man was arrested and charged with displaying gang insignia in a public place, and his t-shirt was seized by police.

He is due to appear in Hamilton District Court on November 28.

Meanwhile, at 11:15 p.m., officers conducting a traffic stop on Tristram Street saw the driver wearing a Mongrel Mob cap.

The cap was seized and the 35-year-old man was cited for displaying gang insignia in public.

Bay of Plenty

Tauranga Police received a report of a patched gang member riding a motorcycle without plates on State Highway 29 at 11.40am.

Officers who then saw the same motorbike leaving an address in Arataki undertook a search of the address, where they found a Greazy Dog badge and helmet.

These were seized and a 44-year-old man will appear in court at a later date, charged with displaying gang insignia in a public place and driving under suspension.

Meanwhile, Rotorua police arrested a 20-year-old man on Ngongotaha Road at 3.10pm for breaching bail.

The man was wearing a t-shirt with the Mongrel Mob insignia and was also in possession of a number of weapons.

The t-shirt and weapons were seized, and the man was charged with displaying gang insignia in public and possessing offensive weapons.

He is due to appear in the Rotorua District Court on Friday.

East District

The first person to be caught by the law was a 51-year-old Napier man.

He was stopped by police in Southampton Street, Hastings, at 12.03am after officers saw a large Mongrel Mob sign on the dashboard of his car.

The man was cited to appear in court at a later date for displaying gang insignia in public and the sign was confiscated.

At 11.05am, Wairoa police stopped a car driven by a patched Mongrel Mob member.

A cap bearing the Mongrel Mob insignia was seized and a 27-year-old man was arrested and charged with displaying gang insignia in a public place.

He is due to appear in Wairoa District Court on Friday.

At 1:20 p.m., Wairoa police saw a man wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the Mongrel Mob insignia at a business on Paul Street.

The t-shirt was seized and the 45-year-old man was arrested and charged with displaying gang insignia in public.

The man also faces charges of burglary and receiving stolen goods and is due to appear in Gisborne District Court on Friday.

Police also saw a man wearing a Mongrel Mob cap at a petrol station on Havelock Road, Havelock North at 11.45pm.

The cap was seized and the 35-year-old man was summoned to appear in court at a later date, accused of displaying gang insignia in public.

Tasmania

Police were called to a Stoke address after a patched West Side member was seen wearing a gang patch in public.

Police located the 30-year-old man and seized the gang’s premises.

The man was summoned to court at a later date, accused of displaying gang insignia in public.

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