Appeal over methamphetamine conviction lost

A man has lost his appeal to the Supreme Court to have a conviction for drug possession overturned on the grounds of an illegal police search.

Kevin Jack Ngan was arrested for possessing methamphetamine for supply after he crashed his car and police found the drugs in a sunglasses case and a large amount of money scattered around the crash scene. They also found a newspaper clipping in Ngan's wallet reporting on his drug habit.

The Supreme Court ruled it did not need to determine the lawfulness of the search of the sunglasses case because the presence of the cash and the discovery of the newspaper clipping would have supported either an application for a search warrant or a search pursuant to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.

Discovery of the drug was therefore inevitable.

- NZPA