CLOSE ALLIANCE BETWEEN DRUG DEALING GANGS

A major drug operation in Rotorua has revealed a close alliance between
drug-dealing gangs in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.

Detective Sergeant Dennis Murphy said police officers had infiltrated
the Rotorua and Waihi chapters of the Filthy Few Motorcycle Club and
gathered valuable information on the gang's business relationships with
Auckland's Hells Angels and Headhunters and "entangling criminal
alliances" with gangs in the Waikato.

Senior patch members of the Filthy Few have been arrested in a six-week
operation which netted 40 arrests and thousands of dollars worth of
class A, B and C drugs.

This morning, the Filthy Few's Rotorua pad was raided and one senior
member arrested.