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Two men caught up in operating a commercial underground drug bunker at a remote Arahura Valley Wild West venture that netted more than $2 million have been jailed.
Cowboy Paradise owner Michael Kevin Milne, 68, was sentenced to six years, while co-offender Anthony Wayne Harris, 77, of Ngahere, was handed five years.
It follows a 2019 bust of the large-scale set-up on the Milltown property which the Crown says was producing 136kg of cannabis valued at $1m each year between 2017 and 2019.
Both appeared before Judge Paul Kellar this afternoon - Milne from Christchurch District Court, and Harris from the dock of the Greymouth District Court via audio visual link.
Cowboy Paradise owner Michael Kevin Milne. Photo / Hokitika Guardian
In March, a Greymouth jury found Milne guilty of selling cannabis, possessing it for sale and two counts of cultivating cannabis between 2017 and 2019.
He was acquitted of an earlier charge of growing cannabis, and of selling the drug between 2013 and 2016.
Meanwhile, Harris was found not guilty of selling cannabis leading up to 2016, but guilty of two counts of selling the drug between 2016 and 2019.
Crown prosecutor Karyn South said Milne denied he was a user of the drug.
“The whole of this enterprise was being done for the purposes of commercial gain,” she said.
Cowboy's Paradise on the South Island's West Coast, where the Crown alleged a large-scale cannabis growing operation was based. Photo / George Heard
At least $2.25m of proceeds were derived over a minimum of two years.
That was consistent with the $450,000 Harris had banked with no legitimate source.
Lawyer Josh Lucas said Harris knew that the only outcome was a term of imprisonment.
However, he sought discount for his age and previous good character.
Lucas said Harris, who wept when first appearing in the dock, was at the “twilight end of his life”.
He would be getting into his 80s before he was likely to be released from prison.
He last appeared in court in 1985 when he was fined $150 for possession of cannabis.
Harris disputed the amount of profits he made from the sale of cannabis, but acknowledged he was a participant in the organisation established by Milne.
Cowboy Paradise up the Arahura Valley on the West Coast. Photo / George Heard
Milne’s lawyer Anselm Williams sought a sentence of home detention, but accepted that the court’s hands “may well be tied”.
He said Milne should also be entitled to credit for his age and good character.
Williams said Milne was a “prominent hospitality business owner” and there would be real challenges for that business if and when he was sentenced to imprisonment.
Judge Kellar said the most serious of both men’s convictions carried a maximum of eight years.
He said while Milne built and established the concrete bunker in a secluded area surrounded by bush, the operation was a joint venture between two, used to grow cannabis on a commercial scale with hydroponic equipment.
The power usage measured the equivalent of a commercial building.
Milne cultivated and harvested the cannabis, while Harris collected it and transported it to Christchurch.
A total of 816 plants were found by police in August 2019.
During the trial, the Crown submitted telecommunications polling data that showed Harris had travelled almost weekly to Christchurch.
Harris was also found guilty of unlawful possession of various restricted weapons including a taser and pepper spray, as well as ammunition that was found at his house and in his vehicle.
The Crown said the “arsenal of weapons” was indicative of the “criminal underworld” the pair was operating in.
Milne and Harris were arrested in September 2019 after a police raid of their properties following a two-month covert operation.
Access to the underground hydroponic set-up, filmed on secret police cameras, was through a trap door in a 40ft (12m) shipping container and down a ladder.
The jury heard the bunker had the capacity to grow about 136kg of cannabis head a year, netting $1m annually.
The Crown alleged the bunker could have been built as early as 2008 when Milne, formerly of Christchurch, started to build the Cowboy Paradise venture, which includes a pistol range, saloon and accommodation units.
Harris started to accumulate “significant” amounts of cash deposits in 2012.
Intercepted phone calls revealed not only how they organised an exchange of cannabis that Harris would carry regularly to Christchurch, but knowledge of a shared venture and investment, which was highlighted in a “panic” call to Milne after Harris’ property was searched.
Milne told police after his arrest he had built Cowboy Paradise himself with support from local trades.
However, the Crown said there had been “extensive investment” behind the bunker, with 48 cubic metres of concrete used for the roof alone.
