The police are expecting a big contingent of gang members to descend on Whangarei this weekend for the tangi of a patched Tribesmen member shot dead in the city this week.
John "John Boy" Henry Harris, 37 died at the St John Ambulance station on Tuesday morning after he was dropped there critically injured with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Police say a dispute over a vehicle was behind the shooting and involved other members of the Tribesmen Motorcycle Club.
Detective Inspector Kevin Burke said police are expecting a large number of gang members from across the North Island to attend the tangi on Saturday.
He said additional staff from Auckland were drafted in to the district to provide coverage for the duration of the investigation.
There will be a police presence at the funeral, with the permission of the family.
"As with any homicide or suspicious death investigation police would normally have a presence at the tangi," Mr Burke said.
Scene examinations by forensic experts at Mower Rd, north of Whangarei, and Hassard St, in the central city, have been completed.
Mr Burke said the call for the public to report sightings of two vehicles linked to the fatal shooting had yielded useful information.
Police released security camera pictures of the vehicles. One was a red 2007 Holden Commodore, registration JCS248, that police believe was towed from an address on Hassard St in the early hours Tuesday. There have been no arrests so far.
Mr Harris' death is one of at least three being investigated in Northland involving gang members.
A team continues to compile evidence in relation to the death of 48-year-old Kimble Moore, a patched member of the Tribesmen Motorcycle Club. His body was found by police six months after he was reported missing. No one has been charged with his death.
Another team is working on the murder of 25-year-old Moses Mahanga, a Head Hunters gang member, who died of a gunshot wound while in a parked car in Otangarei on October 4. No arrests have been made in the case.
- Northern Advocate and AAP