The agreed facts said Abdullah arrived at Auckland International Airport on September 27 and was referred to Customs for questioning and examination.
Officers searched his suitcase, which held a heavy tampered stock pot that, when dismantled, was revealed to be holding 3.58kg of methamphetamine.
The methamphetamine found had a street value of $1.074m, according to the summary.
At the airport, officers examined Abdullah’s phone and found WhatsApp conversations in Malay that, according to the summary, showed he knew he was smuggling drugs through multiple different countries.
He had conversations with a person named “Zareeeena” where they discussed delivering items like the stock pot to different countries.
An audio message from “Zareeeena” in June said: “If the bag yesterday had powder, I would have died … because they opened every single zip and checking, checking.”
Abdullah responded: “Of course I am scared if they select half a kilo and sew it in the bag, I’d be dead.”
On September 18, Abdullah told “Zareeeena”, “the pan is in the bag”.
The following day, “Zareeeena” said: “I’m waiting for the Westerner to pick up the pan”.
“Wow, you’re so busy too,” the summary said Abdullah replied, telling the contact two days later “make sure the promised salary is paid”.
His conversations with a reported travel company showed it organised his visa and booked his flights and hotel for his New Zealand trip.
It also demanded photos proving Abdullah had boarded his flights, the summary said, and was angry when he was late sending them.
In court, Crown lawyer Pia Puertollano said Abdullah was “adamant” he was bringing gold to New Zealand and didn’t know it was drugs.
“That’s just … porkies,” Judge Tahana commented.
Abdullah’s lawyer, Baden Meyer, said his client knew he was doing something illegal and accepted that, but not to the extent alleged by the Crown.
Despite this, he pleaded guilty soon after Meyer was assigned as his lawyer, the court heard.
The Crown alleged Abdullah was a “senior courier”, Meyer said, which he disagreed with.
“[But] you’ve gone to the extreme … I don’t know if I accept your characterisation of the offender as a ‘naive courier’,” Judge Tahana countered.
From her reading of the messages, she continued, Abdullah’s offending went further than just “knowing”.
“But equally I don’t think he was the most sophisticated and significant mule that we’ve seen.”
Meyer accepted it was more than a “single naive run” then argued the concentration of the drugs was “well below the national average”.
Judge Tahana agreed Abdullah’s sentence needed adjustment for the purity of the methamphetamine.
The meth-laden pot was concealed by packaged food and personal items. Photo / NZ Customs
While the judge was sentencing Abdullah, he interrupted to exclaim about the gold and when she said she did not accept that explanation, he continued.
“In the text, there is nothing where we talk about the drug,” the interpreter translated.
“I’m going to give my decision, and I need you to hold back from providing your comments, okay?” the judge responded.
Judge Tahana said she considered the quantity of methamphetamine, making an adjustment for quality and taking into account his role in the smuggling operation, and discounted his sentence for his early guilty plea.
She also acknowledged he would be serving a sentence of imprisonment in a foreign country, which would involve “additional hardship”.
“You will be separated from family and friends and will have limited support while in prison. There will also be language and cultural challenges.”
She allowed an additional discount for that but declined to give a further reduction because the man’s wife has cancer.
For a charge of importing a class-A drug, Abdullah was sentenced to seven years and eight months’ imprisonment.
Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting. She’s currently based in Auckland covering justice-related stories.
Join the NZ Herald’s Open Justice team for Case by Case, a video and podcast series examining the disputes and decisions making headlines across New Zealand.