Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The president of Napier's Mongrel Mob Barbarian chapter, 'Heil Dogg', is being farewelled at a tangi on Friday.
Police are preparing for a large number of gang members from across the country to visit the region, and say extra staff have been called in to monitor the funeral.
Angus Benson, also known as Angus Ratima and 'Heil Dogg', will be taken from Palmerston North Hospital to his mother's place in the Napier suburb of Maraenui, and then to the Mongrel Mob's Napier Aoteoroa gang pad for his final night before the funeral on Friday.
A social media post about the tangi urged people to "Travel safe to all our whānau coming from all over the nation".
Friends and family shared their condolences on social media, saying it was a "such a big loss to the Maraenui and Napier community", and that he was "another solid brother gone way too soon".
Police say his death was not being treated as suspicious and will be referred to the Coroner.
A source told RNZ the tangi is expected to be peaceful, and gang members will respect the new laws banning patches in public.
Police have reiterated that anyone wearing gang insignia would be arrested under the recent Gangs Act.
One person had already been arrested for wearing a Mongrel Mob t-shirt on Tuesday, but police determined he was not part of the group attending the funeral.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.