Sophie Cornish

A man was slashed with a machete during a Random Aggravated Robbery in Wellington, by a group believed to be associated with the Nomads gang.

Detective Sergeant Steve Wescott saidthe incident was the 12th ‘’standover’’ type robbery believed to be linked to the same wider group, the Nomads Bad Company chapter, since March last year.

The man and a woman were sitting in a vehicle at Stellin Memorial Park in the Wellington suburb of Northland on Saturday, about 6pm, when they were approached.

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Two carloads of people surrounded the vehicle and allegedly punched the man, threatened him with a knife and stole his backpack.

When he attempted to retrieve his backpack, he was slashed in the leg with a machete, causing a large cut, police said.

A Nomads-linked property on Dorset Way in Wilton was later raided by police, with a vehicle, a backpack and a machete seized.

A 20-year-old male was arrested and charged with Aggravated Robbery. He remains in custody and is expected to reappear in Wellington District Court on January 28.

Wescott said more arrests were likely.

Police are seeking information from those who saw a white BMW and a silver Nissan sedan in the area at the time of the incident.

The injured man was treated at Wellington Hospital and was in a stable condition, a Capital and Coast District Health Board spokeswoman said.

In December, Stuff revealed there had been 10 similar standover type incidents in Wellington, involving members of the Nomads gang.

One involved a man being hit over the head with a metal object and robbed of his money in the central city, after attempting to buy cannabis using Discord, a group chatting app largely used in the gaming community.

No one has been charged over the incident.

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Police believed similar incidents were going unreported, given the victims may have been attempting to buy drugs.

In November, neighbours of a home on Wilton Rd with links to the Nomads raised concerns to Stuff and Kāinga Ora about a growing gang presence in the street.

One resident said there had been at least seven or eight police raids on the same home in the last six months, and at least 20 police visits.

In October, two people believed to be linked to the Nomads were arrested after a group, allegedly armed with knives and a firearm entered home on Hamilton Rd, made threats and stole drugs, cash and other property.

In August, a man was dragged from a parked car on Shelley Bay Rd, overlooking the waterfront, kidnapped and assaulted.

The alleged offenders, two men, demanded cash and electronic devices, and to know where he lived.

The victim was able to escaped uninjured but was “extremely traumatised” by the incident, Wescott said.