It is being held in a police trust account after being seized under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009.
A High Court judgment says Te Aho and an associate, Michael Roser, were arrested in Bayview, Napier, as they tried to break down the gate to a house last February.
During a search of their vehicle, which Te Aho had been driving, police found a broken plastic container between the driver’s seat and the door. It had traces of a white crystalline substance, later tested and confirmed as methamphetamine.
Police searched Te Aho and found he was carrying two bundles of cash – one of $850 and one of $15,660.
The money was “located on the respondent’s person”, the judgment said.
Roser was searched and found to be in possession of methamphetamine. He was charged with supplying methamphetamine, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
The house the pair were targeting was also searched. Inside, officers found about 20 grams of methamphetamine and firearms. The occupant has pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession.
Te Aho was not charged with drug crimes, but with wilful damage and being in an enclosed yard – offences for which he was later convicted.
He was released from custody on bail on March 15 last year.
Suspected drug deal disturbed
A week later he was spotted in the driver’s seat of a car in a driveway in central Napier. As police approached, a man in the passenger seat got out and ran into a block of flats.
Te Aho abruptly reversed the vehicle and then sped forward towards two constables, who had to take evasive action to avoid being hit.
A police affidavit provided to the High Court said they believed the man who ran into the flats had earlier been communicating with Roser about buying methamphetamine.
The officers believed they had interrupted a drug deal before Te Aho drove away, which would explain his “dangerous driving”.
Police said analysis of Te Aho’s banking records showed that between June 2019 and March 2023, there were 85 separate cash ATM deposits totalling $117,115.
Inland Revenue Department reports showed that over the six tax years to 2023, when Te Aho was not in prison, he received a jobseeker benefit and was briefly employed during 2018.
His overall total declared income for the six years was $62,568, an average of $10,428 a year.
Deposits ‘consistent’ with meth dealing
Justice Cheryl Gwyn said there was a “clear disjunct” between Te Aho’s declared income and the size of cash deposits made to his bank account in the four years before his arrest.
“The cash deposits are consistent with income generated by trading methamphetamine,” Justice Gwyn said.
“In my view, it is significant that Mr Te Aho has not offered an alternative explanation of the source of the cash amount seized by police, nor sought its return.”
The judge said Te Aho has previously been convicted for possession of methamphetamine for supply.
“Taking the evidence as a whole I am satisfied there are reasonable grounds to believe that the $16,510 in cash is tainted property.”
She ordered the money be restrained.
The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009, which was enacted to discourage people from trying to profit through crime, allows the police to seek another court order to have the money forfeited to the Crown.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.
