Alleged leader of Wadeye’s ‘German Boys’ gang bailed as rioting leads to ‘near collapse’

The alleged ‘leader’ of Wadeye’s ‘German Boys’ gang has been granted bail amid ongoing violence and rioting.

THE 57-year-old alleged “leader” of Wadeye’s “German Boys” gang has been granted bail amid ongoing violence and rioting that “has led to the near collapse of the large community”.

Casimar Narndu faced the Darwin Local Court on Thursday charged with engaging in violent conduct, rioting and going armed in public for his alleged role in the continuing unrest.

In opposing bail, prosecutor Anthea Cartwright said Narndu would be in breach of a suspended sentence for dangerous driving causing death in 2017 if found guilty of the fresh offending.

“As your honour is aware, there is a lot of civil unrest in Wadeye and it is quite unsafe,” she said.

“The defendant is the leader of a gang called the German Boys gang which is quite concerning because he could be advising other boys and other people to participate in riots.”

But Narndu’s lawyer, Josh Bach, said there was no evidence the cultural elder was involved with any gang.

“Mr Narndu is the leader of his family in a cultural way but we certainly resist any submission by the prosecution that he’s involved in a gang or persuading young men to be involved in violence,” he said.

“Ultimately bail is sought because Mr Narndu denies the offending that he’s been charged with.”

Mr Bach said while police had obtained a video of a large number of people in which “it seems everyone is holding a weapon” and a “still that shows somebody who appears to be Mr Narndu holding a weapon”, he had only picked up a boomerang thrown by his brother “so that no one else would throw it”.

“Mr Narndu instructs that on the day of the conflict he had gone out to try and persuade the young men in his family to stop fighting, that he walked out between them and was yelling at them and the other side to stop the fighting,” he said.

Mr Bach said his client’s position was “very unlikely to be accepted by the prosecution” meaning he would have a lengthy stint on remand while waiting for a hearing if bail was denied.

In bailing Narndu to an outstation outside Wadeye, judge Dick Wallace said while it was “pretty clear” he was present and holding the boomerang at the time, “the defence does not seem to be hopeless”.

“What he was doing there it’s hard to be sure, but a man of his seniority might have nefarious and might have praiseworthy reasons to be in that situation, that is, he might be egging on the trouble or doing his best to quell it,” he said.

“It wouldn’t take a lot, one would imagine, for a defendant to come up with a credible explanation of various established facts which, prima facie, look fairly damning.”

Narndu will return to court next week.

Mass arrests as Wadeye unrest continues

TWENTY-FIVE men were arrested in Wadeye on Tuesday, as unrest in the remote community continues.

The remote community has had disturbances in recent months resulting in one death, injuries, property damage and the displacement of large numbers of people.

Ten of the men will appear in Darwin Local Court in the coming days for riotous behaviour.

Superintendent Kirk Pennuto said police stationed in the community continued to work to reduce disturbances and improve safety.

“Police members stationed out in the community have been doing an outstanding job at reducing the impact these disturbances have been having and ensuring the safety of everyone,” Mr Pennuto said.

“We have been systematically removing the instigators of violence for the past two months and the targeted arrests yesterday was a large step forward in bringing stability back into the community.

“The situation in Wadeye remains complex, police will continue to tirelessly support the community both from a safety perspective and in participating in discussions with stakeholders to find sustainable solutions to what are deeply entrenched cultural conflicts.”

Originally published as Alleged leader of Wadeye’s ‘German Boys’ gang bailed as rioting leads to ‘near collapse’