Sami Zagros, a former travel agent turned drug lord, changed his name and moved cities to embark on a major drug importation operation. Photo / Supplied
Sami Zagros, a former travel agent turned drug lord, changed his name and moved cities to embark on a major drug importation operation. Photo / Supplied
A high-level drug dealer behind a major meth smuggling syndicate has had nearly $400,000 in assets, including two Mercedes, a Ducati motorbike, and cash, recovered by police.
Ex-travel agent turned drug kingpin Sami Zagros, 32, was jailed for 16 years at the High Court in Christchurch in November.
Zagros had changed his name after being released from prison on other drug charges so he could begin a major operation to attempt to import 8kg of methamphetamine into the country.
“You must’ve had close links to the original source in Mexico and the United States,” said Justice Gerald Nation when he was sentenced last year.
Now, the police Southern Asset Recovery Unit has successfully moved to take Zagros’ illicitly-gained money and assets.
The High Court in Christchurch has ordered the forfeiture of a 2015 Mercedes-Benz A250, 2016 Mercedes-Benz C300, 2013 Ducati Motorbike, nearly $180,000 in cash, just under $125,000 from a bank account, and five pieces of jewellery valued at nearly $36,000. The assets have a total value of $380,000.
One of the Mercedes cars that was seized. Photo / Supplied
“The money and sale of these items will be put into the Proceeds of Crime Fund from which agencies can make application to fund crime prevention as well as drug and alcohol rehabilitation initiatives,” said Detective Sergeant Brendan Patten of the Southern Asset Recovery Unit.
“The Asset Recovery Unit is focused on targeting any individuals who think that they will profit off crime and cause harm and destruction in our communities.”
Zagros earlier pleaded guilty to several charges including money laundering, importation of methamphetamine, attempted importation of methamphetamine, and possession of MDMA for supply.
It isn’t the first time Zagros has been before the courts for his involvement in the drug world.
Sami Zagros was behind a major drug smuggling operation. Photo / Supplied
In 2013 Zagros, formerly known as Saman Ahmad Khan Bigy, a travel agent in Auckland, was busted in what police called Operation Ghost, an 18-month sting targeting an organised crime syndicate.
Bigy was seen buying three ounces of meth from See Meng Hoo, a VIP at SkyCity casino and was convicted of six drug charges, landing him a sentence of four years and six months imprisonment.
But that wasn’t enough to keep Bigy out of the drug scene.
When he was released in 2018, he changed his name to Sami Zagros and moved to Christchurch, after seeing a gap in the drug market.
He then started his master plan between May to September which saw him smuggle at least six consignments of meth into New Zealand, leading to a police investigation where officers listened in on his phone conversations for weeks.
Methamphetamine came into New Zealand hidden inside African clothing. Photo / Supplied
More than 3000 phone calls and text messages had been intercepted, with one officer even learning the drug dealers’ individual voices, slang, ticks and rhythms.
Zagros was the “boss”, leading the whole operation, along with associates smuggling drugs into New Zealand using various packages that were legitimately declared, coming mostly from Mexico and the United States.
The packages contained dining utensils, stereo components, adaptors and fan samples and African clothing. But unknown to authorities, meth was hidden inside.
Zagros would get the packages sent to vacant or yet-to-be-rented properties around Christchurch or addresses occupied by his associates or neighbouring properties.
He would then direct associate Preston Radford to pick up the packages and deliver drugs and cash between Christchurch and Auckland.
Despite the money flowing from the meth importation, Radford would be paid small amounts for his assistance, which was described as “disproportionate” for the quantity of drugs and level of risk involved in the summary of facts.
Radford later pleaded guilty to 21 charges and was jailed for more than six years.
Another associate, Cherie Ann Akehurst, let some of the meth be delivered to her house, which she received 11 months home detention for.
This allowed Zagros’ associates to pick up the packages without drawing attention to themselves from law enforcement.
Some packages were intercepted in Hong Kong, Brazil and the United States and were found to contain meth. There were others that weren’t intercepted and it is not known how much meth they contained.
During search warrants, around 14,000 MDMA tablets were located at a Christchurch storage unit linked to him and which matched nearly two dozen MDMA tablets found at his home.
