NZ Govt Redirects $11.9 Million in Criminal Assets to Fight Meth and Gangs

“Gangs and meth destroy lives, fuel violent crime, and undermine the safety and wellbeing of entire communities,” McKee said.

The New Zealand Government is redirecting millions of dollars confiscated from organised criminals into a nationwide effort to combat methamphetamine addiction, gang influence, and violent offending, in what ministers are calling a "direct reinvestment in safer communities."

Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee and Associate Police Minister Casey Costello today announced that $11.9 million from the Proceeds of Crime Fund will be injected over the next 12 months into the Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) programme — a cross-agency initiative designed to disrupt gang recruitment, reduce drug-related harm, and strengthen vulnerable communities after major police operations.

The funding, allocated through the Proceeds of Crime Fund's out-of-cycle process due to the urgency of the issue, represents one of the clearest examples yet of criminal profits being repurposed to counter the social destruction caused by organised crime itself.

"Gangs and meth destroy lives, fuel violent crime, and undermine the safety and wellbeing of entire communities," McKee said.

"This Government is taking money directly from criminals and reinvesting it into programmes that stop gangs from expanding their influence, help vulnerable young people avoid organised crime, and support communities dealing with the devastating impact of methamphetamine."

Turning Criminal Profits Against Organised Crime

The ROCC programme operates across seven regions and is built around a coordinated model involving Police, social services, iwi organisations, schools, local councils, health agencies, and frontline community groups.

Unlike traditional enforcement-only approaches, ROCC combines policing operations with rapid-response social intervention designed to prevent gangs from re-establishing influence after arrests or drug raids.

Officials say the programme is focused not only on reducing crime today, but on disrupting the long-term pipeline into organised offending.

"When Police dismantle a gang operation or meth network, the damage does not simply disappear overnight," McKee said.

"Communities are often left vulnerable to further recruitment, intimidation, addiction, and instability. ROCC helps ensure gangs cannot simply return and fill the vacuum again."

The programme also supports offenders attempting to leave gang lifestyles behind, while providing targeted support for at-risk youth and families living in communities heavily impacted by methamphetamine trafficking and violence.

Youth Diversion and Prevention Showing Results

Government ministers highlighted several programmes already delivering measurable outcomes under the ROCC model.

In Porirua, community organisation WELLfed expanded programmes teaching cooking, life skills, healthy relationships, and parenting support to vulnerable families and young people. Officials said approximately one-third of participating youth successfully re-engaged with education after involvement in the programme.

In South Auckland, a Youth Multi Agency Collaboration initiative in Ōtara worked with 109 young people who had come to police attention. More than 76 percent have reportedly avoided reoffending since receiving support.

Meanwhile in the Bay of Plenty, the Live for More initiative has focused on young men considered highly vulnerable to gang recruitment, connecting participants with counselling services, employment pathways, mentorship, and long-term support networks aimed at steering them away from gangs and drug dependency.

Costello said those outcomes demonstrated that reducing organised crime required more than arrests alone.

"Strong enforcement remains essential, but lasting change also means stopping gangs from recruiting vulnerable young people in the first place," she said.

"This funding provides greater certainty for providers delivering programmes with measurable results — whether that is reducing reoffending, helping people into employment, keeping young people in school, or breaking cycles of addiction and violence."

Methamphetamine Crisis Driving Government Response

The announcement comes amid ongoing concern about the growing social and economic cost of methamphetamine use in New Zealand.

Police and public health agencies have repeatedly warned that organised criminal groups continue to expand meth distribution networks into regional and rural communities, contributing to violent crime, family harm, financial hardship, and pressure on health services.

Gang-linked organised crime groups have increasingly diversified into large-scale drug trafficking operations, with methamphetamine remaining one of the most profitable illicit commodities in the country.

ROCC teams have already worked alongside police operations in Northland, Tauranga, Ōpōtiki, and Hawke's Bay, providing community support immediately after gang and meth enforcement activity.

Officials say the expanded funding will allow those responses to scale further and provide longer-term stability for frontline organisations operating in high-risk areas.

Proceeds of Crime Fund Expands Strategic Role

The funding also signals a broader strategic use of New Zealand's Proceeds of Crime Fund, which is financed through assets seized from criminal enterprises under proceeds-of-crime legislation.

Rather than allowing confiscated assets to disappear into general government revenue, the latest investment channels those resources directly into initiatives designed to weaken the social foundations of organised crime.

"This is about restoring law and order while protecting communities from the enormous harm caused by gangs and methamphetamine," Costello said.

"Every dollar taken from organised criminals is now being used to strengthen communities instead."

Ministers confirmed the allocation is separate from Budget 2026 decisions and was approved through an out-of-cycle process due to the urgency and time-sensitive nature of the initiatives.

The Government says further evaluations of ROCC outcomes will continue as programmes expand nationwide.