My attention was drawn to this six sentence Herald story, first of all, because it took two people to write it. But then I noticed that in those six sentences, the name of the gang was mentioned three times, and again in the headline and, on the web, once more in the title bar. You couldn't get better brand exposure if you hired a publicity agent.

Gangs like to see their name in print, even especially when it's for something negative. It legitimatizes them. So that's what's happening here, intended or not. The story could have been written just as easily in the Herald style, using the words 'thugs' or 'criminals' instead of using the gang-name.

(One more observation, of the six sentences, one is filler, referencing a completely unrelated incident in another part of the city.)