Gangs

Cam Stokes the detective sergeant in charge of the Auckland Motorcycle Gang unit until 2004 says the Headhunters keep a low profile compared with other, more confrontational gangs.

But they are linked to much of the drug dealing in the Waitakere area, especially methamphetamine.

Organised crime in New Zealand is far from the levels seen overseas with the likes of the triads or mafia but the average kiwi has no idea how ingrained the gang mentality and lifestyle is for large numbers of men.

From a 2008 Listener article: "....Wayne Doyle, currently president of the gang. Doyle was facing murder charges following a gang-related fight, although he wasn’t the Headhunter who struck the killing blow. Rowe was trying to squeeze Doyle for the location of the killer, using the threat of prison and a murder conviction to try to extract information from him. Rowe recalls Doyle saying, “I never laid a finger on that guy.” “I said, ‘I know you didn’t.’ He said, ‘But I know I can go down for murder and have to do 10 years.’ I said, ‘Yup, that’s dead right. And what about your wife and kids?’
“He said, ‘I tell you what. The gang comes first. My loyalty to the gang comes first.’”

During his last trip inside I asked him if he would be back in prison. His answer: "Does a bear shit in the woods?"

You can bet they'll all be watching Underbelly: Terry Clark tonight. Lets hope they remember how the story ends.