The police minister says those claiming children were left on their own following police raids on homes in Ōpōtiki are "wrong".
An operation last month targeting houses suspected to be connected to the Mongrel Mob have resulted in reports of a three-year-old being left for hours unsupervised, and three children being left behind at school after both their parents were arrested and no plans were put in place to collect them.
Mark Mitchell said in both cases he had followed up with police, who said it was "absolutely not the case".
The minister was in Ōpōtiki in recent days where he met with local iwi, councillors, the mayor and police, and he said "none of those stories have been verified to them at all".
"In fact the issues that were raised with me, we went away and fact-checked that, and it wasn't the case at all."
Mitchell called on those who were making the complaints to take their concerns to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) so they could be investigated.
"Police won't leave children in a house. They don't do it, they're very careful."
A further claim of women being strip-searched as part of the operation has not been specifically put to police by Mitchell, but he said he would follow up now it had been brought to his attention.
"I can check with police on that, but again the information I've had is there's no evidence that any of that has happened."
The prime minister was asked about the allegations of unsupervised children at his post-Cabinet press conference on Monday afternoon, and he sought assurances from police last night.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Christopher Luxon said "there was no point, as I understand it, where children were left alone".
"[Police] disputed and disagreed with how it was represented."
Labour leader Chris Hipkins wanted those making the claims to take their complaints to the IPCA.
