'Big fish' in Bali-based drug gang gets 16 years

A beneficiary was yesterday jailed for 16 years after being convicted of importing methamphetamine valued at up to $650,000.

Allan Tony Murphy, 44, of Nelson, who is said to have connections with the Lost Breed motorcycle gang, has been ordered to serve at least nine years.

He was found guilty in the High Court at Auckland of importing 650g of methamphetamine, which is commonly known as speed, possessing the drug for supply and conspiring to make a further shipment or shipments.

The jury acquitted him of making a previous importation.

Prosecutor Kevin Glubb said it was a pernicious drug and Justice Simon France said Murphy was "trading in misery".

The judge said Murphy was a high-ranking, trusted lieutenant in New Zealand of the main Bali-based trafficker.

He was arrested after a courier caught at Auckland Airport agreed to help the authorities.

Police wired up her hotel room with a video camera. After making contact, Murphy was seen on the video trying to pry open the inside of the suitcase with two knives.

At one point the courier asked him how long he had been "doing this".

Murphy, who had made a number of trips to Bali, replied: "A long time, long, long time."

In 1982 he was jailed for two years for importing a small amount of heroin.

Initially, Murphy denied knowing anything about the suitcase.

At his trial he said he had arranged to bring in gold and diamonds for his wife.

Justice France said that, unsurprisingly, the jury did not believe him.

The officer in charge of the case, Detective Sergeant Bruce Howard, welcomed the stiff sentence and said Murphy was a "big fish".

The courier, South African mother-of-three Vanessa Amore Reynecke, 33, is awaiting sentence next month on charges of importing the drug and possession for supply.