Drug runner convicted before trial

Majid Safaei Javid

An Auckland jury made legal history yesterday when it found an Iranian wrestler guilty of importing more than a million dollars worth of methamphetamine before any evidence was called in his trial.

At the High Court in Auckland the jury, on the direction of Justice Simon France, found Majid Safaei Javid, 34, of Glenfield, guilty of importing and supplying crystal methamphetamine.
Justice France had, in agreement with Javid's lawyer Barry Hart, asked the jury to return the verdicts at the start of the trial. He explained that Mr Hart wanted to appeal a decision about the admissibility of some evidence.

Mr Hart had earlier argued in the High Court that some evidence could not be presented to the jury but the decision released last Friday had gone against his client.

That evidence, which could now be put to the jury, would ensure the Crown could prove its case against Javid.

Justice France invited the jury to trust his assessment of the situation and find Javid guilty now. Mr Hart could then appeal his conviction at the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the evidence should not have been admissible.

After a short break the jurors returned with guilty verdicts.

Crown prosecutor Ross Burns congratulated the jury for making legal history.

"No accused person has ever asked a jury to convict him. You've been involved in something unique."

Mr Burns stressed the guilty verdicts had no bearing on Javid's co-accused Choi Yuen Chong, who has denied importing and supplying the methamphetamine.

In opening her trial, Mr Burns said Chong, 34, had brought the drug into New Zealand from her home country of Malaysia in March last year.

Chong was part of an organised ring, which included Javid as the New Zealand recipient, he said.

She had travelled to Christchurch via Singapore with 1.25kg of methamphetamine, worth about $1.25 million, concealed in the gap of a wheeled suitcase where the handle to pull the case was stored.

New Zealand police had meanwhile intercepted calls between Javid and an unknown man who travelled to Christchurch and went to Chong's hotel room. Mr Burns said the meeting was recorded, as Javid told the man to leave his hands-free cellphone switched on so he could hear everything that went on.

Chong produced the suitcase, which she took down to the carpark.

Mr Burns said security footage would show Chong "curiously" trailing behind the man by a few feet.

The bag was handed over and taken to Auckland, where police found it at a Mt Roskill address with other drugs.

Mr Burns said the critical issue was whether Chong was aware the bag had the drugs in it. The Crown argued she was.

When apprehended in Auckland airport as she was trying to leave the country, Chong told Customs officers that her boyfriend had asked her to bring the bag to New Zealand.

She said he got her to unpack her clothes from the suitcase she had intended to travel with and transferred them into the other suitcase.

In New Zealand Chong sent a text message to her boyfriend saying she never knew there were drugs in the bag.

Mr Burns put that down to Chong panicking upon learning the police had discovered the drugs in Auckland.

He had earlier said that, given Malaysia's tough attitude towards drug trafficking, one would have expected that Chong would have been wary of taking a suitcase other than her own.

Dilworth Grizzlies Wrestling Club coaching co-ordinator Iain Adamson was shocked to hear of Javid's drug convictions.

"I am astounded ... I wondered what had happened to him."

Javid was a former member of the club and had not trained there for a couple of years.