8. Question No. 8—PoliceVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 8—Police8. VANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of Police: What recent progress have Police made on tackling organised crime? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister of Police): I was incredibly proud to announce last week that Operation Cobalt Police's focus work to disrupt gangs and organised crime has reached a significant new milestone. As of 6 July 2023 police have entered 43460 charges and have issued a further 55988 traffic-related infringement offence notices. These charges are supported by 1235 search warrants conducted and 731 warrantless searches as part of Operation Cobalt. Police have also seized 449 firearms as part of this operation which builds on the 1804 firearms seized as part of Operation Tauwhiro. These charges demonstrate Police's absolute commitment to tackling organised crime and that this Government is backing police to keep our communities safe and to hold offenders to account. Vanushi Walters: Minister are you aware of any recent actions taken by police in the past 24 hours? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: This work never stops. In just the past 24 hours police arrested a patched member of the Head Hunters gang who was observed travelling through the Manukau area. With assistance from the armed offenders squad an armed vehicle stop was made that revealed a large quantity of methamphetamine and a further search of the address the offender came from revealed a firearm which was loaded; ammunition; and a large quantity of cash. The offender has been arrested and charged with possession and further supply of methamphetamine and police are not ruling out further charges being laid. This is just one more concrete example of the incredible work that our police are doing to tackle organised crime. Vanushi Walters: What feedback has she seen on the success of Operation Cobalt? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The successes of Operation Cobalt are known well beyond the confines of this House. Operation Cobalt national controller Detective Superintendent Uraia Vakaruru recently spoke with One News and made it clear that Mongrel Mob Barbarians Mangu Kaha Black Power Mongols Greasy Dogs Comancheros and Hells Angels members have all been caught in the crackdown and a recent story in the Police Association magazine highlighted the success of Operation Cobalt explaining that up to 200 staff were working on the operation over the 12 different police districts alongside non-traditional groups such as road policing as well. With nearly 700 new police working on organised crime and a spate of new useful legislation it's clear we're empowering police to get on with the job. Vanushi Walters: How has new legislation assisted police in tackling organised crime? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: Just this month a front-line constable in Counties Manukau invoked the first ever use of the new provisions in the Search and Surveillance Act. This new power enabled the officer to seize nearly $24000 in cash in suspicious circumstances from a gang member who was in breach of bail. The officer was not satisfied with the explanations given and had reasonable grounds to suspect the cash was not lawful. The District Court agreed and granted an order to retain the cash for 28 days pending further inquiries. This follows previous successes of the use of the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act 2023 in Ōpōtiki during gang conflict and it demonstrated we're making sure police have the rules and the tools to get the job done.