Refugee offenders exposed
The devastating toll of Immigration NZ’s failures
In recent decades, New Zealand has opened its doors to thousands of people under humanitarian grounds. Refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants have been granted entry on the premise of fleeing persecution and seeking safety. That kindness has not always been repaid.
Beneath the narrative of compassion lies an uncomfortable truth: a growing number of violent offenders in our communities were not born here. They were imported, often under the radar, granted residency and protection, only to go on and inflict trauma on those who gave them refuge.
This article documents a series of criminal cases involving refugee or asylum-linked offenders in New Zealand. These are not isolated incidents. They represent a disturbing pattern that deserves national scrutiny. These are only a few examples, sadly, there are many more.
Ahamed Samsudeen – Refugee turned terrorist at LynnMall
Ahamed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen arrived in New Zealand in 2011 on a student visa and was granted refugee status in 2013. Despite being monitored by authorities, including being flagged by the SIS in 2017 for his intent to join ISIS and later imprisoned for extremist affiliations, his refugee protection remained intact due to legal constraints. On 3 September 2021, during an Auckland lockdown, he walked into the LynnMall Countdown supermarket, grabbed a knife from the shelf and stabbed six shoppers, seriously injuring eight people in total. Police had been following him but were unarmed and unable to intervene until tactical officers arrived and shot him dead. A Coronial inquest underway in June 2025 is now examining how a refugee with a known extremist background, whose refugee status had been cancelled in 2019 but was still legally protected, was able to remain in the community and carry out what was later labelled an ISIS-inspired terror attack.
Zakariye Mohamed Hussein – Refugee whose untreated psychosis led to multiple knife attacks and murder
Zakariye Mohamed Hussein, a Somali refugee, has a chilling history of unprovoked violence tied to serious mental illness. In March 2012, while at a psychiatric unit, he went on a frenzied knife rampage across Christchurch, kidnapping and stabbing a pie delivery driver and assaulting a council worker, before being shot and hospitalised . He served over six years for those attacks and remained in psychiatric care. On 25 June 2022 he was granted brief hospital leave, left the facility, and without warning stabbed 52‑year‑old Laisa Waka Tunidau to death just metres from her home in Sockburn, her 11‑year‑old son watched in horror . At sentencing, the court heard Hussein had previously assaulted a nurse with a pen during his hospitalisation late in 2021. In November 2022 he received a life sentence with a minimum non‑parole period of 13 years, as the justice system confronted how a refugee with a flagged mental
Amir Mohebbi – Drug smuggler, bigamist, and rapist
Iranian-born Amir Mohebbi was granted refugee status and went on to live a double life of deception and violence. Not only was he convicted for raping a young woman, but he was also involved in methamphetamine importation and bigamy. He was sentenced to more than eight years in prison. His case illustrates how unchecked backgrounds can lead to dangerous individuals slipping through.
Mohamed Abdnur and Senith Deliwala Gedara - Rapists
Mohamed Abdnur, Tyias Moke, and Senith Deliwala Gedara were jailed for the group rape of a vulnerable woman in a Wellington apartment in 2021. The victim was heavily intoxicated on alcohol and MDMA, drifting in and out of consciousness as each man took turns assaulting her. Despite fighting back, she was overpowered and left traumatised, later diagnosed with PTSD. Abdnur, originally from Somalia, received six years, Moke was sentenced to four and a half years, and Deliwala Gedara received eight years, with additional penalties for secretly filming women and possessing explicit material.
Mohammed Abdiwali – Serial sex offender roaming free
Somali-born Mohammed Abdiwali has been convicted twice for sexual violence. Despite spending nearly eight years behind bars, he has continued to breach conditions, reoffend, and roam freely. He even told media he felt like “a monster… roaming around”. And yet, he remains in the country.
Musab Hamdi - Twice convicted rapist
Musab Hamdi, twice convicted of rape, received a rare preventive detention sentence. He used Snapchat to convince his latest victim, 13, that he was 17. Justice Greg Blanchard cited Hamdi’s lack of remorse and high risk of reoffending.
Mohyadin Farah – Serial sex offender
Mohyadin Mohamed Farah, a Somali refugee who arrived in New Zealand in 2000, has been a persistent threat to public safety due to his repeated sexual offenses and the government's failure to adequately address his criminal behaviour. Despite a history of sexual assaults dating back to 2006, including incidents involving elderly women, Farah has been repeatedly released into the community after serving minimal sentences. In 2008, Immigration New Zealand considered deporting him, but the process was hindered by Somalia's lack of a functioning government to issue travel documents. Farah's refugee status was never revoked, allowing him to remain in New Zealand. Judges have described him as a "menace to the country that gave you refuge," yet preventive detention has not been imposed, and his rehabilitation efforts have been ineffective. His case highlights the critical flaws in New Zealand's immigration and justice systems, where the rights of victims are compromised, and public safety is jeopardised due to bureaucratic inertia and leniency towards repeat offenders.
Abdirahim Sheik Mohamed Guled - Taxi driver
Guled was found guilty on two counts of sexual violation and one of abduction involving a 19-year-old woman and one of indecently assaulting a 14 year-old- girl. Abdirahim Sheikh Mohamed Guled, who covered up his security camera with cardboard prior to the assaults, was sentenced to 10 years' prison in the Hamilton District Court in December 2014 after a jury found him guilty of raping and abducting one of his female passengers and doing an indecent act on a 14-year-old passenger.
Keyse Awil Abdi - Another taxi driver rapist
Dial-A-Cab taxi driver Keyse Awil Abdi, 48, was found guilty on multiple charges by a jury after a week-long trial. Judge David Ruth sentenced Abdi to 10 years' jail last week on charges of rape, two of unlawful sexual connection and a further charge of burglary after the incident on June 13, 2013.
Abdi Omar - Repeat sex offender
A Hamilton man who raped a homeless teenaged girl has narrowly avoided being sentenced to preventative detention. In what Justice Paul Davison QC described as a finely balanced case, he opted not to impose what would have been an indefinite jail term for defendant Abdi Omar. He did, however, jail the 34-year-old for nine years, with a minimum non-parole period of four and a half years.
Elias Tenorio-Quinones - Repeatedly sexually assaulted a teen in Hamilton
Columbian refugee, Elias Tenorio-Quinones, 23, was jailed for two years and eight months, and listed on the Child Sex Offender Register when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court. He had earlier pleaded guilty to nine charges of sexual connection with a young person, and one of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The charges related to a series of incidents that took place at Lake Rotoroa and a public park in Rototuna in late 2022.
Colombian Refugee – Sexual exploitation of a teenager
A Colombian man living here as a refugee was jailed for repeatedly abusing a teenage girl. He supplied her with cannabis, coerced her into sex, and filmed the encounters. He pleaded guilty to nine charges. The victim now lives with lasting trauma.
Abdullah Baura – Afghan refugee jailed for rape
Abdullah Baura, a refugee from Afghanistan, was sentenced to jail in Christchurch after raping and strangling a 16-year-old girl. He plied her with drugs and alcohol before the assault. He was convicted of two rapes and acquitted of a third.
Juan Galicia-Romero – Drugimportation
Juan Galicia-Romero, another Colombian migrant, was involved in a sophisticated cocaine smuggling operation. He was jailed for importing large quantities of drugs into New Zealand. He had come here under the guise of seeking a better life.
Afghan teen ram-raider
An Afghan teen refugee was part of the wave of ram raids terrorising retailers across the country. He stole vehicles, led police on high-speed chases, and ended up hospitalised. Despite the seriousness of his crimes, he was handled within the youth system.
Plane hijacker threatens repeat
One of the most alarming refugee-linked incidents was a plane hijacking by Asha Abdille, a Somali refugee in 2016. Even more chilling was her statement: she would do it again. How did someone with that level of instability ever get through our system?
Golriz Ghahraman – Former MP convicted of $9,000 shoplifting spree
Last but not least, Former Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman, herself a former refugee and the first refugee elected to New Zealand’s Parliament, was convicted in June 2024 of stealing nearly $9,000 worth of designer goods from high‑end stores. She pleaded guilty to four counts of shoplifting and was fined $1,600 plus $260 in court costs. Ghahraman sought a discharge without conviction, citing complex PTSD triggered by threats and abuse experienced during her public life, but the Auckland District Court and, on appeal in October 2024, the High Court rejected that argument. Justice Venning ruled the shoplifting was premeditated, describing it as “a spree, not a moment of madness,” and judged that the consequences of a conviction were not disproportionate to the gravity of the offence
It’s nearly 2am on a Monday and I need to stop somewhere, so at Golriz it is. Honestly, I could just keep going. One deeply concerning thing is how many of these refugee offenders are being granted name suppression by the courts. On top of that, I’m certain a number of the cases I’ve reviewed have deliberately omitted the fact that the offenders were refugees in the first place.
Each of these cases raises hard questions. Why are violent, unstable individuals being granted asylum and residency? Why does Immigration New Zealand remain silent or evasive when asked to explain? Are we importing danger under the banner of kindness?
New Zealand’s refugee policy has become a blind spot for public safety. While some come here genuinely seeking peace, we cannot ignore the fact that some are bringing with them the very violence they claim to flee. Worse, our own people are now the victims.
This isn’t just a failure of policy, it’s criminal negligence disguised as compassion. The politicians and Immigration New Zealand officials who rubber-stamp these refugee and asylum applications without proper scrutiny are directly responsible for the violence, trauma and death that follow. They prioritise optics over safety, ideology over due diligence, and now innocent New Zealanders are paying the price. Every time a so-called refugee commits rape, murder, or terror on our soil, it’s not just on the offender, it’s on the hands of every bureaucrat and government minister who let them in. They were warned. They ignored it. And now there’s blood on their hands.
New Zealand deserves a refugee policy that puts our safety first. Not every sob story should lead to a visa. We need vetting, transparency, and accountability. Otherwise, the violence will keep coming, on our streets, in our homes, and under our flag. When you import the third world, you become the third world
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If you know of any refugee or asylum seeker who should be added to the list, and their photo has been published on a New Zealand news site, please leave a comment. I’ll give you three months of paid subscription for free. I’m building this list as a reference and want it to be as complete as possible.
We need to stop pussy-cat footing around with any migrant that commits a serious crime here and send them back !
Our system is ridiculously woke and clogged with sympathy for the criminal.
Things need to change