8 Jun 2017

Gang leader Jamie Pink sentenced

1:21 pm on 8 June 2017

Ngaruawahia gang leader Jamie Pink has been sentenced to four months community detention for possessing weapons.

The 46-year-old had been convicted of having two firearms and a baseball bat studded with screws.

Jamie Pink, Tribal Huk gang leader

Tribal Huk gang leader Jamie Pink Photo: RNZ / Carla Penman

He appeared in Hamilton District Court today and was sentenced to four months community detention.

Pink launched a campaign in October to chase all meth dealers out of the Waikato town of Ngaruawahia.

He claimed success, and to prove the campaign was over he drove his vehicle to the office of the Waikato Times in Hamilton and asked staff there to call police because it contained two firearms.

His lawyer, Rogher Laybourn, described him as a mature man with a lot of genuine qualities, including his leadership of a gang programme to feed children.

Police said the offending was serious and was at odds with Pink's concern about public safety.

The court heard that Pink had a lengthy criminal history, dating back to 1988.