Shane Ngakuru was last seen in Phuket, Thailand, but is understood to have fled. Photo / Supplied
Shane Ngakuru was last seen in Phuket, Thailand, but is understood to have fled. Photo / Supplied
A high-ranking New Zealand member of the Comancheros MC gang alleged to be a key player in dealing encrypted phones which the FBI secretly controlled and eventually used to take down hundreds of organised crime figures around the world has been arrested in Thailand.
Shane Ellwood Ngakuru had been on the run from the FBI and New Zealand Police.
Detective inspector Paul Newman of the New Zealand Police National Organised Crime Group confirmed to the Herald that Ngakuru was arrested in Thailand after a joint operation involving NZ Police, the FBI, and Thai Police.
He was arrested by Thai CIB in Samutprakan province early this morning (NZ time).
"Ngakuru had been identified during Operation Trojan Shield as allegedly being involved in serious drug offending, and he has been the subject of an international red notice," Newman said.
"Operation Trojan Shield, led by the FBI and co-ordinated with the DEA, AFP, Europol and numerous other law enforcement partners from more than a dozen countries, was a covert law enforcement operation infiltrating encrypted devices used by transnational crime groups."
A pile of cash seized by police after Operation Trojan Shield. Photo / File
He added: "The arrest is the result of extensive work by the law enforcement agencies involved and is another good example of international law enforcement cooperation. NZ Police is grateful for the support of our international partners."
The 42-year-old Ngakuru is a cousin of Duax Hohepa Ngakuru, the "international commander" of the Comancheros allegedly behind some of the world's biggest drug deals and reportedly controlling business from Turkey under aliases, including Negotiator, Bullseye, Chuck Norris and El Mito (The Myth).
Global crime-fighting agencies launched co-ordinated raids across 16 countries, including New Zealand, in June last year and made more than 800 arrests, and seized tons of drugs, and uncovered millions in cash, after secretly spying on organised crime through a secret FBI-developed phone app.
Shane Ngakuru was identified in US court documents after the "sting of the century" Operation Trojan Shield as being among a select group of criminals who distributed the Anom communication devices.
The FBI alleged that he took payments for the $2000 six-month subscription fees.
Duax Hohepa Ngakuru was born in Rotorua and rose to the top of the Australian Comancheros gang. Photo / Daily Telegraph
A "red notice" has also been issued – a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person "pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action".
While wanted to face allegations in the US laid under the US anti-racketeering legislation, Ngakuru also faces criminal proceedings in New Zealand.
Charges of importing methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA into New Zealand, along with charges of drug conspiracy, money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, were laid at Hamilton District Court last year.
It's alleged that Ngakuru was based in Thailand to act as a fixer, or "super-facilitator", between the Comancheros and organised Asian crime syndicates.
Intelligence reports handed to NZ Police tell of transnational drug syndicates using super-facilitators to foster a successful methamphetamine supply chain.
"A super-facilitator has links to a global network of manufacturers and supply and distribution chains to successfully import methamphetamine to New Zealand," says a police report, Methamphetamine in New Zealand: What is currently known about the harm it causes, which was circulated last year.
"The super-facilitator is usually based offshore and is never in direct contact with the shipment."
There is evidence of others like Ngakuru setting up shop around the Pacific, Mexico and South America. In 2014, kickboxer Peter Leaitua was arrested in Colombia on drug trafficking charges while other links crop up every time a major shipment is busted.
"We've got them all around the world. And they are not there for a holiday," Customs NZ investigations manager Bruce Berry said during a Herald on Sunday investigation into how methamphetamine was coming into New Zealand from the Golden Triangle region.
