A multimillion-dollar international drug operation has been upended with New Zealand, Australian and Canadian authorities working together to uncover an elaborate scheme to import methamphetamine hidden in maple syrup.
Authorities seized 713kg of methamphetamine concealed in maple syrup containers, intended for distribution in Australasia.
Andy Oloafofa Tumaaga was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison for his role in the operation.
Justice Gerard van Bohemen noted Tumaaga’s financial motivation and lack of prior criminal record.
It was the biggest methamphetamine seizure at the border that law enforcement had ever seen: a whopping 713kg, thought to be roughly a year’s supply for every addict in New Zealand, which could have sold for hundreds of millions of dollars on the streets.
But a sloppy attempt to conceal the drugs – inside maple syrup containers with bottoms that had been cut off and hastily taped back into place – might have contributed to the otherwise sophisticated and grandiose plan’s downfall.
Former Kelston Boys’ High School prefect and well-known Melbourne entertainment industry figure Andy Oloafofa Tumaaga, 47, appeared in the High Court at Auckland for sentencing today after admitting he was the intended recipient of a large portion of the massive shipment.
“You’ve taken full responsibility for your actions,” Justice Gerard van Bohemen said as he ordered a sentence of 17 and a half years’ imprisonment – down from what had been a 30-year starting point before discounts were factored in.
He noted Tummaga had no prior criminal records in New Zealand or Australia, didn’t use drugs himself and rarely drank. In the two years since his arrest, he has attended church regularly and expressed shame for his involvement in the scheme, the judge noted.
Andy Tuumaga appears in the High Court at Auckland for sentencing after pleading guilty to helping import a record-breaking 713kg haul of methamphetamine into New Zealand, which was secreted in a shipment of maple syrup from Canada. Photo / Michael Craig
His motivation, the judge said, appeared to be purely financial – a promised $600,000 payoff for receiving and extracting the drugs before on-selling them and training others to do money drops.
Syrup scheme unravels
Police intercepted and arrested Tuumaga in February 2023 as he was driving to the stash at a warehouse in Helensville, north of Auckland.
He didn’t yet know it, but investigators with the police National Organised Crime Group and Customs had been on to him for weeks, monitoring his calls and movements.
They had obtained a warrant from the High Court on January 20, six days after 18 pallets of Prestige brand maple syrup arrived at Ports of Auckland via a cargo ship from Canada.
Operation Regis intercepted more than 700 kilograms of methamphetamine in 2023. Methamphetamine was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo / NZ Police
The hundreds of bottles were each labelled as containing 4 litres of maple syrup. Many of them did, in fact, contain syrup. But eight of the pallets contained dummy containers, court documents state.
“The concealment was rudimentary,” according to the agreed summary of facts for the case obtained by the Herald. “ ... The bottom of each bottle [was] sliced, a bag of methamphetamine pushed in and then sand and stones added to make up the weight ... Then the bottom of the bottles were secured with tape.”
The maple syrup meth was already in crystal form, unlike a similar but unrelated case that would come to light later that year in which the drug was smuggled in liquid form inside cans of Canadian beer and kombucha.
That case resulted in a manslaughter conviction and a 21-year sentence earlier this year for Himatjit “Jimmy” Kahlon after Fonterra co-worker Aiden Sagala, 21, overdosed while unwittingly sipping from a tainted can. His co-defendant, a well-known businessman with permanent name suppression, was not charged with manslaughter but sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment on drug charges alone. Their haul, 747kg, edged out the record that had been set by the 34kg-lighter maple syrup bust just months earlier.
Authorities have previously said they were tipped off about the illicit syrup shipment ahead of time thanks to intelligence from Canadian authorities. They also received help from Australian authorities, believing the shipment was intended for distribution across the wider Australasian underground market.
The 713kg could have been divided into about 35 million doses worth an estimated $250m, authorities have estimated.
That represented almost the entirety of how much methamphetamine had been consumed in New Zealand the year prior, authorities believed based on wastewater testing. Nationwide consumption since then, however, is believed to have increased substantially, according to the same testing methods.
Paperwork on the shipment showed that eight of the pallets – six of which, it would turn out, contained concealed methamphetamine – were to be delivered to “Tom” in Helensville.
Operation Regis intercepted more than 700 kilograms of methamphetamine in 2023. Methamphetamine was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo / NZ Police
Tuumaga – who grew up in New Zealand and the United States but had lived in Australia since he was 18 – now admits as part of his guilty plea that he was “Tom”. Of the 713kg haul, it was expected that between 550kg and 560kg would be delivered to him, the court was told today.
Authorities were already eavesdropping on his calls when he inquired about the shipment on January 26 with the broker tasked with getting it through Customs. He then returned to Australia for several days before returning on February 1, spending the next week texting “regularly” to arrange the delivery.
On February 8, police and Customs arranged for a controlled delivery of the syrup containers to the Helensville address, with most of the drugs having already been secretly removed. Authorities then raided the property, allegedly catching four men in the act of trying to open the syrup bottles. Each of those men have pleaded not guilty and await trial.
Tuumaga was not present during the delivery or the raid, having remained at a home about an hour away in Papatoetoe, South Auckland. However, he hired a van that same afternoon and began driving to Helensvile after his calls and texts to one of the men who were arrested went unanswered.
“Mr Tuumaga was arrested at the Helensville township by police,” the agreed summary of facts states. “When arrested, Mr Tuumaga’s phone showed he had the map app open for directions to [the nearby warehouse].”
Lieutenant or manager?
Tuumaga faced sentences of up to life imprisonment after pleading guilty in January to one charge each of importing methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine for supply.
Defence lawyer Marie Dyhrberg, KC, asked today that the judge consider a starting point of 30 years rather than life imprisonment despite it having been a record-breaking bust at the time.
She argued her client was a “trusted lieutenant” in a large-scale scheme being directed from overseas but he did not have a management role – a distinction that can have a significant impact on sentence lengths.
Operation Regis intercepted more than 700 kilograms of methamphetamine earlier in 2023. Methamphetamine was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo / NZ Police
Crown prosecutor Kristy Li disagreed about his role, pointing out that he would have trained others to do money drops had the import been successful.
“He would have had a responsibility to direct others in a very crucial part of the operation,” she said.
Even if not the top manager, Li said he would have had some knowledge of the scale of the import based on the large warehouse he found, the fact he hired a rental van to move the drugs, the number of pallets involved and the $600,000 compensation he was expecting.
She sought a starting point of 32 years but acknowledged he was due a number of discounts.
Li also sought a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years, pointing out that such sentences had been imposed for both co-defendants in the recent meth beer sentencing.
“Given the nature and scale of the [maple syrup case] offending, it is something that needs to be considered by Your Honour,” the prosecutor said of the minimum term. “Denunciation and deterrence have to be at the forefront of the court’s mind.”
Justice van Bohemen noted that Tuumaga spent his young childhood in a household marred by domestic violence before being adopted by his uncle and moving to America for five years. He returned to New Zealand with his uncle at age 10 and seemed to excel in school, participating in the debate team and band and becoming a prefect at Kelston Boys’ High School in Auckland.
Operation Regis intercepted more than 700 kilograms of methamphetamine in 2023. Methamphetamine was concealed in bottles of maple syrup. Photo / NZ Police
He moved to Australia with his partner as a young adult and spent the next two decades working in nightclubs, co-owning a club at one point. He was also a popular DJ and ran a marketing business for concerts and music festivals.
As part of his business, he made frequent trips back to New Zealand.
Tuumaga reported that his life started to spiral, and he was tempted to participate in what appeared to be a fast cash scheme, after his long-term relationship soured due to his partner’s infidelity.
He submitted to the court a letter of apology and reference letters from supporters, some of whom described relief efforts Tuumaga had participated in after the Brisbane flooding in 2011 and the Samoa measles outbreak in 2019.
“Your fall from grace was a single episode,” the judge said, allowing discounts for his guilty plea, his prior good character, remorse and his personal circumstances.
The judge concluded that Tuumaga did not have a significant management role in the operation. He also decided that a minimum term of imprisonment wouldn’t be necessary, noting that Tuumaga will already have to serve one-third of his sentence before he can begin to apply for parole, which equates to just under six years.
“Your finite sentence is lengthy already,” Justice van Bohemen said. “It should be a significant deterrent to drug-related offending.”
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
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