ANTI-DRUG PLEA AT GANG MAN'S FUNERAL

A Highway 61 member pleaded with fellow gang members to leave behind
the world of drugs in an emotional appeal at the funeral of gang
leader Kevin Weavers.

"Richard", a Highway 61 member now living in Sydney, said Weavers was
his gang brother and a mentor for 25 years.

He said the gang was going through a hard time, especially in New
Zealand.

"There is a lot of aggro, a lot of mistrust, and it is all due to
overindulgence in things we should leave behind."

Weavers had "patched" Richard into Highway 61 twenty years before, and
had been best man at his wedding.

He was one of a strong core of friends, but "there's been a few
accidents and our crew is getting smaller".

"There is good and bad in each of us, and each of us should strive to
look after ourselves and not lose ourselves to drugs and alcohol,"
Richard said. "Those rob us of our integrity and self-worth.

"Unless we use self-control, our world will become a dark
place.

"We only get one chance at life but we get many choices along the way.
There is no need to dull our senses."

He said there was no need to turn to drugs.

"We live in a wonderful age where the highs can come from little
things like riding your bike, walking your dog."

Richard's words were spoken to members of at least four gangs, packed
into the Waikumete Cemetery chapel yesterday.

As well as Weavers' family, friends and fellow Highway 61 members,
rival gangs including King Cobras, Tribesmen and Headhunters sat in
the pews.

Weavers' coffin was driven from his older brother Noel's home in
Manurewa to Waikumete Cemetery.

It was escorted by gang members on about 35 motorbikes, many riding
without crash helmets as a mark of respect.

Speakers told of Weavers' life outside the gang.

Born and raised in South Auckland, Weavers played for age-group
Auckland and North Island representative rugby teams before giving the
sport up when he was 17.

He began working for his father, mechanic Barry Weavers, and later
turned his skills to motorbikes. He met other Highway 61 members
during a spell in prison and was quick to join.

Speakers at the funeral did not try to gloss over Weavers' extensive
criminal record, but they said he could not be judged solely by it.

Richard said he was a natural leader.

"He was a hard man, but to those who he gave his friendship he could
be a generous and caring man," said Richard.

Weavers was a father who made sure his daughter Rachel never wanted
for a new hockey stick, and drove a friend's wife all over town
looking for an Edmonds Cookbook.

His mother, Jeanette Ewers, said she did not always agreed with her
son's way of life, "but it was his choice".

He had been a generous and loving son.

After the funeral, family and close friends were invited back to
Jeanette Ewers' house.

Other mourners went back to the place where Link lived his last hours
- - the Highway 61 headquarters in Manurewa - for a wake.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Gutry said a few plainclothes police
officers kept a low profile at the funeral.