11 February 2024 , 20:08
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A notorious motorbike gang known for organised crime and sexual violence is feared to have expanded into the UK.
The Mongrel Mob has shared on social media how it has set up shop in Gloucester under the name the "Riders", following popularity in its home country of New Zealand.
It has more than 2,500 members there, who allegedly salute by shouting the Nazi salute - "Sieg Heil" or "Sieg f***** Heil", and pull the "shaka" sign with their thumb and pinkie finger. Some members even tattoo their faces with the swastika or words, like "Mighty Mongrel Mob" or "Notorious".
So the expansion to Gloucester, a cathedral city with more than 130,000 residents in the southwest of England, has caused unease as The Riders also use the same patch - a red and black English bulldog wearing a Wehrmacht steel helmet. Its numbers appear to be growing with videos showing the Gloucester Riders patching new members.
Mongrel Mob members in New Zealand keep large XL Bully-style dogs for protection. The XL Bully has, this year, been outlawed in the UK after a spate of attacks - including fatal horrors - last year.
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The Mongrel Mob in New Zealand has about 2,500 members and about 30 disparate chapters (Facebook)New Zealand Herald Investigations Reporter and author Jared Savage said the New Zealand Mongrel Mob has committed "terrible acts of violence against rival gangs". He said the Mongrel Mob follow an ideology known as 'mongrelism' characterised by "lawlessness and extreme anti-social behaviour". The Nazi iconography is "a calculated ‘f*** you’ to society", he said.
"There have been a lot of gang-related murders committed by the [New Zealand] Mongrel Mob in recent years. Some members of the [New Zealand] Mongrel Mob are also heavily involved in organised crime, particularly the manufacture and supply of methamphetamine."
Mr Savage said he wasn't surprised to hear that a chapter had spread to the UK, as other chapters had been found in Australia and Fiji in recent years. He said: "I assume someone senior in the NZ Mongrel Mob has formed a relationship with them along the way, then given their blessing to establish a chapter in the UK. If not, the consequences of purporting to be a member of the Mongrel Mob, and wearing a patch, would be dire." Mongrel Mob Riders Gloucester did not want to comment, The Sun says.
But it is said the mobsters have participated in cancer charity walks in the UK since The Riders was established. A purported member also says online that it helps encourage other members of a "modern way of living". Mirror has approached this member for comment on behalf of the group.