Police are speaking to media after a series of raids at gang locations across the North Island.

Search warrants have been executed in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Auckland, Rotorua, Taupō and Hawke’s Bay.

The operation has been led by the National Organised Crime Group [NOCG], a branch of the police that specialises in covert inquiries, and involved an investigation into alleged distribution of methamphetamine.

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The NOCG investigations usually focus on the upper echelon of crime syndicates smuggling drugs into New Zealand, such as the 515kg of meth hidden inside steel beams from the United States.

Other recent investigations have targeted the Comancheros outlaw motorcycle gang, which has genuine links to organised crime groups overseas.

But on other occasions, NOCG has focused on local gangs, often in smaller towns, whose drug dealing is having a disproportionate effect on the community.

The Herald understands that the raids this morning are the result of a covert investigation into alleged drug dealing by the Barbarians chapter of the Mongrel Mob based in Ōpōtiki.

According to drug testing of the wastewater, Ōpōtiki is consistently among the rural towns or regions with the highest levels of meth when calculated on a per capita basis.

A police spokesperson said a press conference with Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, the head of NOCG, and Superintendent Tim Anderson, the Bay of Plenty district commander, would be held in Tauranga this afternoon.

The raids on the Mongrel Mob Barbarians come one year after the death of the chapter’s president who had publicly taken an anti-drug stance.

Comancheros bust - ‘deals blow to the heart’ of motorbike gang

Last month, it was revealed nearly every single member of the Comancheros motorcycle gang is facing active criminal charges, following a long-running police investigation spanning three years.

As a result of four phases of this investigation, police allege the Comancheros was operating as an organised criminal group conducting a complex money laundering operation; drug importation and supply operations; and a “Commission” scheme to fund, among other things, military-style training for some of its members.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says cumulatively 137 charges have been laid against the gang’s members and associates.

Those charged include 17 “office” holders, 10 patched members and 14 prospects of the gang.

“This investigation represents the single biggest blow to the Comancheros’ operations since Operation Nova,” Coster said.

“Police have dealt a blow right to the heart of this gang’s alleged activities, it is an exceptional outcome and shows the dedication of police investigators over the course of three years.

“From the moment the gang established a presence in this country, they made it very clear they saw themselves as the number one gang in this country,” Coster said.

“From the very beginning, there has been a multi-agency effort to continuously target, disrupt and enforce criminal activity that has been taking place.

“This has resulted in significant criminal prosecution cases as well as assets and profits being stripped away from their grasp.”

In its most recent phase, Operation Embargo, investigators from the National Organised Crime Group sought evidence about a directive allegedly sent out to Comanchero members three years ago.

It is alleged this directive ordered members to follow rules being set up around the “Commission”.

As an example: It is alleged there would be a $5000 commission paid on every kilogram sold by their members.