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Cash and drugs were found after the joint police and Customs investigation.
An Australian man who admitted possessing 109 kilograms of methamphetamine, which was found hidden in plastic storage pallets, has been jailed.
Alan Tran, from Sydney, previously admitted the charge of possessing the class A drug for supply in what was described as a “significant, commercial deal”.
The 27-year-old appeared at the High Court at Auckland on Tuesday in front of Justice Paul Davison where he was sentenced to 14 years and seven months in jail. He was ordered to serve a minimum of seven years.
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Cash was found in a dishwasher.
Tran was arrested alongside Michael Navarro in July 2019 after methamphetamine and cash was found at a storage unit. Navarro will be sentenced at a later date.
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The pair arrived at Auckland Airport in June and said they were visiting the country for a short time, but Customs said they rented properties for the purpose of a drug operation.
Lawrence Smith/Stuff
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield said his client was preyed upon by drug masterminds.
After a search warrant, Customs investigators and police found 142 black and green plastic storage pallets and evidence of drug extraction from within the pallets.
Two plastic pallets were found partially disassembled with compressed methamphetamine seen in hidden compartments.
Customs said $50,000 in cash was found inside a dishwasher and backpack during a search in the West Auckland home.
Justice Davison said methamphetamine, clandestine equipment, scales and plastic bags was found inside one of the rented properties.
Of the 126 pallets found at an address in Manurewa, south Auckland, 51 contained methamphetamine, the court heard.
Ahead of the sentencing, Tran told a report writer he had no idea about the drugs until he saw the white powder inside the pallets, the court heard.
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Customs said the concealment of the drugs was sophisticated.
“At that point you appreciated exactly what you had become involved in,” Justice Davison said.
Crown prosecutor Nick Webby said Tran and his co-accused were trusted to look after the multi-million dollar business as the men on the ground in New Zealand.
However, Tran’s lawyer Ron Mansfield said he was merely taking instructions after being recruited in Australia at a time he was lost in life.
”There’ll always be people who are preyed upon by the masterminds … we need to show some understanding and compassion to them,” Mansfield said.
Justice Davison gave Tran discounts for his early guilty plea and mitigating factors including being separated from his new young family in Australia.
However, the judge said Tran needed to be held accountable.
“The extent of the misery and destruction of lives in our community the amount of methamphetamine has to cause is profound,” he said.
Based on the New Zealand Drug Harm Index, the Crown said this seizure prevented an estimated $135 million of social and community harm.
