Five men were arrested on Monday night, 20 April, after Police received a report of illegal hunting on in the Waitomo area.
About 11pm, Police were called to a rural property and found five men unlawfully hunting deer on private land.
Only one of the men was a firearms license holder.
They were arrested and have been summonsed to appear in court at a later date on unlawful hunting charges.
Additional charges are being considered, including in relation to breaching Level 4 restrictions.
Police would like to commend the property owner for alerting Police to the suspicious activity.
"We take unlawful hunting very seriously at any time, but this is particularly foolish during the Level 4 restrictions," says Detective Sergeant Rene Rakete, Acting Area Investigations Manager, Western Waikato.
"Illegal activity involving firearms is extremely dangerous and we will not tolerate it at any time."
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre