$1m drug fine leaves daughters destitute

Darryl Sorby

The two young daughters of drug kingpin Darryl Leigh Sorby have been left penniless, the courts taking every cent away from the family to pay his $1 million fine.

Sorby had fought for the girls to be paid a living allowance, but he was instead stripped of every asset when Justice Mark Cooper made the Proceeds of Crime order in the High Court at Auckland.

Sorby, the primary caregiver to the girls, was also sentenced to nine years in jail for importing and selling millions of dollars worth of ecstasy between 2000 and 2002.

The 54-year-old is by all accounts a devoted father, while their mother, his former partner Simone Brown, has been deemed an unsuitable parent by Child Youth and Family, according to court documents.

The identity of the girls, who are under 6, and their location has been suppressed by court order. They are being cared for by a relative of Sorby's.

Justice Cooper described the girls' predicament as "regrettable".

"There are many children in New Zealand who are in unfortunate circumstances as a result of their parents. Regrettable as it may be, it appears that some parents think about their children's welfare at a stage when it is too late for such thoughts to find any practical expression. I am afraid this is such a case."

Sorby's assets had been restrained by the court, but the girls were being paid an allowance of $800 a week from them before Justice Cooper's order.

Sorby has lost a property at Paparoa, a yacht called Sand Dune, a Subaru Legacy and more than $200,000 in cash held in bank accounts.

In an affidavit, Sorby said: "It would seem harsh that they would be deprived of the means of financial support which could be made available from the sale of property. They will certainly never receive any support, financial or otherwise, from their mother, Simone Brown. In particular, no one wants the children to be returned to their mother, that would be disastrous."

Ms Brown could not be contacted.

Sorby's lawyer, Ron Mansfield, said he was awaiting instructions on whether to appeal against the Proceeds of Crime order and the sentence.

Detective Stephen Peat, the officer in charge of the case, acknowledged that Sorby was a devoted father.

"There's two sides to the guy: Darryl Sorby the drug dealer and Darryl Sorby the father."

In the 1970s Sorby headed the Australian arm of the Mr Asia drugs syndicate, going by the nickname "Mr Midnight".

In 1984 Sorby was sentenced to 23 years in Victoria's Pentridge Prison for trafficking $10 million worth of heroin.

He is said to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder after serving 12 years of that sentence.


Money in drugs

Darryl Sorby
* Allegedly knew the whereabouts of $1.19 million buried on a property near his home in Helensville. The money was dug up before police could find it and its whereabouts is unknown.
* Found by police in possession of $328,000 in 2002.
* Found with another $40,000 last year.
*Had $170,000 in bank accounts.
* Would allegedly count out payments for drugs in $10,000 lots in the back of a car in the carpark of the Greenlane McDonald's.

Robert De Bruin
* Paid cash for a $443,000 house in Glendowie.
* Police found $379,240 in cash at the address.
* Sent eight cash payments totalling more than $395,000 to people abroad.