The leader of a Waikato gang says allegations he runs an illicit weed operation are "a lot of crap", after Patrick Gower confronted him during his cannabis documentary.
Newshub's National Correspondent met with Tribal Huk's Jamie Pink while filming the third instalment of his On Weed series, which aired on Monday night on Three.
Tribal Huk are somewhat of an oddity in New Zealand's gang scene. They're vocal detractors of the country's illegal meth trade, and are known as the 'Sandwich Gang' because they make sandwiches for under-privileged school kids.
However the gang has also been linked to violent crime. Pink himself is currently on trial after an alleged axe attack on a fellow gang member, and police believe Tribal Huk also sells weed.
Pink says the charge of possession of cannabis for supply laid against him earlier this year is "a lot of crap".
However when Gower asked whether the gang used the firewood yard it owns in Ngāruawāhia as a front for an illegal cannabis operation, Pink was coy.
"You've got to bloody work hard to do this job," was all he'd say.
Pink admits he smokes weed, but thinks police are wasting their resources by focusing on trying to stop it being sold illegally.
Gower's meeting with Pink was just one reason for his trip to Waikato. The other was to meet with the grower behind Ngāruawāhia Kush, a THC-heavy strain of weed.
The grower told Gower gangs don't run the illicit cannabis market in New Zealand, as is frequently assumed - he and other independent suppliers like him did.
Missed the documentary? Watch it in full on Three Now.
