Big-haul meth dealer imprisoned for 6 years

SEIZED: Some of the 147.2g of methamphetamine - one of the largest hauls ever found in Northland - police found when they raided a Hikurangi home last year.PHOTO/FILE

A man with gang links has been jailed for six years for dealing with one of the largest quantities of methamphetamine found in Northland.

Tuara Kingi, 31, appeared for sentence in the High Court at Whangarei this week after having earlier pleaded guilty to charges of possessing methamphetamine for supply, supplying methamphetamine, unlawfully possessing a firearm, and unlawfully possessing a pistol. Police found 147.2 grams of methamphetamine.

Kingi pleaded guilty after accepting a sentence indication of six years and two months given by Justice Patrick Keane on June 2.

Kingi, who has links with the Head Hunters, was then remanded in custody to appear for sentencing this week.

Kingi's co-accused, Shane Legg, has pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing methamphetamine for supply, possessing equipment for manufacturing methamphetamine, unlawfully possessing a firearm, and unlawfully possessing ammunition. He has elected a jury trial which will take place in the High Court at Whangarei in November.

The offences both men were charged with arose after police executed a search warrant about 6.45am on July 22 last year at a house occupied by Legg in Hikurangi.

Police forced their way in through the back door after no one inside the house opened the door. Both men were jointly charged with being in possession of 147.2 grams of methamphetamine, which Justice Keane said was the largest quantity discovered in Northland at that time.

Police also recovered about $19,000 from a backpack, a .22-calibre pistol and rounds of ammunition, a set of digital scales, and various amounts of methamphetamine and instruments for inhaling the drug. Cameras surveying the driveway, back door, garage, and the area between the house and the main road were found. Police seized a hard drive on which surveillance was recorded.

The Crown said the value of methamphetamine seized depended on the units in which it was to be sold. If sold in ounces, it could fetch between $47,250 and $105,000.

Kingi's lawyer Nick Leader asked Justice Anne Hinton in court this week to allow a discreet reduction in the end sentence to reflect his client's remorse and prospects of rehabilitation.

Quoting from the presentence report, the judge said Kingi had had an unhappy childhood after his parents separated when he was a baby. He had been assessed as a high risk of re-offending and a medium risk of harming others.

Justice Hinton reduced the sentence indication by two months and encouraged Kingi to try every avenue available to rehabilitate himself.