The Brigadoon, which was used to smuggle drugs from Thailand to New Zealand.
The six-part podcast series Mr Asia: A Forgotten History tells the inside story of New Zealand’s most infamous drug syndicate. In episode 2, hosts John Daniell and Noelle McCarthy describe the bizarre voyage of the Brigadoon.
Before Mr Asia, there was the Brigadoon: a boatload of drugs shipped straight from Thailand to New Zealand.
At least, pretty straight.
There was a fair bit of chaos as well. Brears Basham, seen here standing on the Brigadoon, was the head of the police unit that would be tasked with tracking the Mr Asia syndicate. He described the voyage as “a shambles”.
It was kickstarted by Marty Johnstone and a man who’d been kicked out of a strict Christian sect for taking a girl to the movies. His name was Peter Miller. Together they founded a bunch of shell companies under the Milltone banner, primarily aimed at laundering the cash they made on Thai sticks - processed marijuana - brought down on freight ships that came in from Asia.
That gave them some seed money and an idea.
Auckland Star journalist Murray Williams, who knew both men through another member of the Brigadoon’s crew, says the syndicate grew from a backyard enterprise.
Miller took a three-week brass sextant course and Johnstone supplied the boat – which had been built for his father.
Loaded up with some big dreams, the crew found things went sideways from the start.
This was before the days of GPS and no one on board really knew how to sail. Shipwreck, malaria, broken equipment and double-crossing didn’t help.
Still, once hundreds of thousands of Thai sticks were landed in the far north, New Zealand’s drug culture was on its way to radical change.
It was also the start of many years of relentless work by Basham, the Auckland detective who took on what would become the Mr Asia syndicate.
Police rapidly became frustrated at what they perceived as a lack of action from higher-ups on the case – “bullshit towers” was how one policeman described head office – so Basham began working with the media to create momentum.
After speaking with us early last year, Brears Basham passed away in September 2024.
“He was hugely courageous, and incredibly dogged”, is how a former colleague remembers him. “An outstanding police officer.”
Mr Asia - A Forgotten History is a six-episode true crime series. Follow the series on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released on Wednesdays.
The series is hosted and produced by John Daniell and Noelle McCarthy of Bird of Paradise Productions in co-production with the New Zealand Herald.
The series is supported by New Zealand on Air.
The two key players join forces in episode 1 of our true crime podcast.