A Comancheros gang associate is facing charges after guns were found following a fleeing driver incident in Auckland last night.
Area commander for Auckland City East, Inspector Jim Wilson said night shift officers spotted a vehicle linked to a wanted person travelling along Ellerslie-Panmure Highway just after 1am.
The vehicle was signalled to stop near Karangahape Road, before it “immediately accelerated away from the unit” and the police Eagle helicopter monitored the vehicle’s direction of travel.
“The vehicle was driven erratically further west towards Point Chevalier.”
The car then stopped at a property on Moa Road, where the driver allegedly handed a bag to a passenger who got out and then accelerated away from the address, Wilson said.
Police did not pursue the vehicle but continued to track its movements.
“On several occasions the driver has been observed driving extremely dangerously through parts of central Auckland and Balmoral, before heading east again,” he said.
Spikes were successfully deployed near Greenlane.
Inspector Wilson said the vehicle carried on until losing control in Saint Johns.
“The incident came to an end at the intersection of Saint Johns and College Roads, with the driver taken into custody shortly afterward.”
The woman who left the vehicle in Point Chevalier was also found carrying a bag with two firearms and ammunition inside.
“As a result, we have recovered a pump action shot gun and a cut down .22 calibre rifle along with ammunition for both firearms,” Wilson said.
The 30-year-old man driving the vehicle who is an associate of the Comancheros will appear in the Auckland District Court today facing multiple firearms offences, along with reckless driving and failing to stop.
The 29-year-old passenger had a number of unrelated warrants to arrest, and she will be appearing in court today.
“The driver’s reckless behaviour this morning is totally unacceptable, and it is pleasing he will now have his day in court,” Wilson said.