Chand was sentenced to 16 years and Tumaaga received 17 and a half years.<\/p>\n
Operation Regis intercepted more than 700kg of meth in 2023. The drug was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo \/ NZ Police<\/p>\n
Before today\u2019s hearing, a group of the men\u2019s supporters gathered outside the courtroom to pray.<\/p>\n
The public gallery was full during the sentencing.<\/p>\n
Justice Simon Mount, KC, said that in January 2023, Customs discovered 713.8kg of methamphetamine<\/a> hidden in maple syrup bottles<\/a> on 18 large pallets from Canada.<\/p>\n The hundreds of bottles were each labelled as containing 4 litres of maple syrup. Many of them did, in fact, contain syrup. But eight of the pallets contained dummy containers, court documents state.<\/p>\n The shipment was split in two, Justice Mount said, with some being delivered to a facility rented by Zhang, 31, on Auckland\u2019s Dominion Rd and the rest to Helensville. <\/p>\n Authorities have previously said they were tipped off about the illicit syrup shipment ahead of time thanks to intelligence from Canadian authorities. They also received help from Australian authorities, believing the shipment was intended for distribution across the wider Australasian underground market.<\/p>\n The 713kg could have been divided into about 35 million doses worth an estimated $250 million, authorities estimated.<\/p>\n Tini, 24, and Prasad, 24, had been recruited by another defendant, Chand, to assist with the packing process at the Helensville site.<\/p>\n They were arrested soon after arriving at the facility on February 8.<\/p>\n Justice Mount said there was no evidence the men had been advised they would be paid a particular figure for the job, but Prasad relayed that he was told it would be \u201cworth your while\u201d.<\/p>\n The judge viewed their role as essentially \u201chired labour\u201d to unpack their boxes, and their expectation of financial reward was modest.<\/p>\n Justice Mount said there was no evidence Zhang had any involvement in the operation before December 2022, and he was to be paid $2000.<\/p>\n This amount, he told the court, was said to be \u201cgrossly disproportionate\u201d to the risk Zhang was exposed to.<\/p>\n Crown prosecutor Kasey Nihill submitted that Zhang\u2019s role in the offending fitted somewhere between lesser and significant, and was \u201cslightly more\u201d than just the few days before the importation.<\/p>\n While his lawyer suggested Zhang\u2019s actions were reckless, Nihill said it left open the possibility that he had been \u201cwilfully blind\u201d regarding the meth importation.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had prior dealing with this person … Who offered him money to receive packages.\u201d<\/p>\n There were also images on Zhang\u2019s phone that were close to the appearance of meth and had stacks of cash, Nihill submitted.<\/p>\n He was \u201cclearly\u201d concerned about the shipment, given the frequent calls he made leading up to the delivery.<\/p>\n Zhang\u2019s lawyer, Graeme Newell, said his client did not cause the drugs to come into New Zealand, and the pallets were already en route before he rented the facility.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a person who was [involved] after the fact. He was involved in the safe harbour after the drugs got to New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n Zhang\u2019s role was not the same as an actual importer by a \u201clong stretch\u201d, Newell said.<\/p>\n Nihill said the other defendants, Tini and Prasad, were \u201ccatchers\u201d.<\/p>\n She submitted that the men knew about the operation when they arrived at the facility to unload the product, which she said differed from the defence\u2019s argument that the men became aware when unpacking the drugs.<\/p>\n Nihill said the men had travelled a significant distance with Chand and sat for two hours in the car before entering the facility, so had plenty of time to discuss what their role was.<\/p>\n Audio from inside the site captured no discussions or efforts to question what was happening, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a time where that knowledge was crystallised [that they were dealing with drugs] and there was no attempt to withdraw.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Justice Mount said he didn\u2019t believe the men \u201creally understood\u201d that what they were doing was unpacking 600kg of meth.<\/p>\n The Crown was not opposed to granting Prasad several sentence reductions for factors including his youth, previous good character; and to Tini, for his remorse, good character and time spent on bail.<\/p>\n The submission from Tini\u2019s lawyer, Shane Tait, focused on three factors: Tini\u2019s naivety, his youth, and the lack of premeditation.<\/p>\n Tait also pointed to the \u201cimmense\u201d support Tini had in the community, his lack of prior convictions and the certificates he undertook while in custody.<\/p>\n Tini\u2019s godmother also spoke in his support, appearing in the court on behalf of his community and the 50 letters of support she told the judge had been provided for him.<\/p>\n \u201cHis heart is one of empathy and shows unwavering care for those in need of help.\u201d<\/p>\n She spoke of how Tini helped support family members, even taking in his two younger brothers.<\/p>\n Prasad\u2019s lawyer, Oscar Hintze, said the judge should not focus on the quantity of the meth, but on his client\u2019s role.<\/p>\n \u201cThe penalty doesn\u2019t fit the crime, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n Hintze said there was no evidence that Prasad knew there was half a tonne of meth involved, and if it had been 1kg, the situation would have been completely different.<\/p>\n It was, Hintze submitted, \u201cunfortunate\u201d that it was 550 to 600kg.<\/p>\n Justice Mount granted Tini and Prasad a starting point of 10 years\u2019 imprisonment, and after giving discounts for personal factors and time spent on bail, landed on a sentence of seven years and two months each.<\/p>\n He gave Zhang a starting point of 15 years, and after discounts to reflect his previous good character, time on bail and personal factors, ended on a prison sentence of 10 years and 10 months.<\/p>\n Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.<\/p>\nAndy Tuumaga was earlier sentenced after he admitted participating in the elaborate scheme to import meth hidden inside maple syrup bottles from Canada. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Justice Simon Mount, KC, during his time as a barrister. <\/p>\n
Operation Regis intercepted more than 700kg of meth in 2023. It was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo \/ NZ Police<\/p>\n