Te Whakatōhea leaders have expressed “deep concern” over recent police raids in Ōpōtiki, which they say they weren’t supportive of, and neither were they consulted over.

That‘s in stark contrast to Police Minister Mark Mitchell’s insistence that police “are constantly working with, and consulting with, local iwi and hapū” when discussing the raids in the house last week.

The eastern Bay of Plenty-based iwi says raids on 15 homes led to 22 arrests but also adversely affected 37 mokopuna.

In a statement this afternoon, Arihia Tuoro, chair of Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea, the iwi trust board, said the raids raised concerns about the Crown’s relationship with Te Whakatōhea.

“Our primary responsibility is to the safety and support of our mokopuna and kaumātua affected by these events, and we are dedicated to working constructively and collaboratively to uphold the wellbeing of our whānau and community.”

She said the impacts of the raids on young mokopuna must never be allowed to happen again.

“We stand united in our efforts to find solutions to best address the issues we are facing in our community and we want to address these issues through collaboration while building trust with our whānau and those most affected."

Police response

In a statement to Te Ao Māori News, the police insisted Te Whakatōhea leadership had said they were “very appreciative” of the Ōpōtiki operation last Tuesday.

“For operational reasons police do not give advance notice to anyone of intentions to execute search warrants and/or arrest warrants.”

Standing by the operation, the police also said they’d “prevented the extremely harmful supply of methamphetamine into Opotiki from these alleged offenders, therefore ensuring the health and wellbeing of their mokopuna is improved”.

They did not directly address a question about support for mokopuna and tamariki caught up in, or whose parents were arrested in, last week’s Ōpōtiki operation.

Police said staff would meet key Iwi members this morning to discuss the matter further.

Political friction

Last Wednesday, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi suggested the raids, which occurred during Te Pūnuiotoka near Ōtautahi, were deliberately timed to occur when key Iwi leaders were out of town.

The claim was dismissed as “conspiracy theory territory” by Minister Mitchell, and said Police Commissioner Andrew Coster offered assurances that that was not the case.

When asked about the police action, Mitchell said it was “not the police officers that choose to keep weapons and drugs in the house” and said the intergenerational harm created by gangs needed to be addressed.

The minister said Māori were 60 percent more likely to experience violent crime, and attributed much of that to gangs.

When asked last Wednesday how many women, children and kaumātua were caught up in the operation, Mitchell was unable to answer but said: “The better question is this: how can we stop the people who are really responsible?”