A 30-year-old man from Te Karaka was arrested during a major police operation targeting the East Bay chapter of the Mongrel Mob Barbarian Motorcycle Club.
Police executed more than 30 search warrants across the North Island as part of Operation Highwater, which concentrated on gang members based in Ōpōtiki.
The national Organised Crime Group began Operation Highwater in December 2023 after an increase in violent crime and other offending in Ōpōtiki.
The operation targeted people allegedly involved in a North Island-wide drug distribution network, including methamphetamine and cannabis.
So far police have arrested a total of 28 people, seized illegal drugs and firearms and restrained assets.
Seized items included five rifles, a 3D-printed pistol, 5.4kg of cannabis, smaller quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine and thirteen Mongrel Mob Barbarian patches.
The arrested Te Karaka man was charged with participating in an organised criminal group, and also with cultivating cannabis and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The second arrest in the Eastern Police District linked to the operation was a 44-year-old Napier man who was charged with participating in an organised criminal group and possession for supply methamphetamine.
Both men will appear in the Tauranga District Court on November 29.