Over that seven months, he supplied 313 grams of methamphetamine into the Hawke’s Bay market and conspired to supply a further 6.1kg.
The street value of 6.4kg of methamphetamine was about $980,000 at that time.
The OCU rounded up 16 Mongrel Mob Riders chapter members and associates in a series of raids as they concluded the meth-dealing inquiry, Operation Casino, on May 19, 2020.
They seized methamphetamine, cannabis, about $400,000 in cash, vehicles and firearms.
Police said the group had continued dealing right through the first Covid-19 lockdown, which ended in the week before the raids.
The police application to sell the vehicles reveals that the long-running inquiry was centred on Sulusi, who had a long criminal history and had last been jailed for meth dealing in 2016.
At that time, he appeared for sentencing in a wheelchair due to his long-standing liver disease.
He was again charged with supplying methamphetamine after Operation Casino but died four months later, before his case could be heard in court.
When he was arrested, a judge issued a restraining order over a house in Marewa, Napier, along with several motor vehicles, a motorcycle and two free-standing cabins.
The house was worth about $400,000 at the time. Its value climbed to $670,000 in April last year before dropping to an estimated $510,000 currently.
Police were able to find and seize six vehicles, including a 1956 Ford F100, a 1963 Ford Galaxie convertible, a 2009 Chrysler 300C and a Ford Jailbar ute.
The Jailbar ute was unregistered and its year of manufacture was not known, but the vehicles were produced by Ford between 1942 and 1947.
Sulusi had tried to hide his ownership of some of the vehicles by registering them in the names of other people.
The Ford Galaxie was registered in the name of Joseph John “Triple J” Morrell, a senior Mongrel Mob member who died in May 2021 after being caught up in another major police inquiry into organised crime, Operation Dusk.
“At no time since the Galaxie was seized on May 19, 2020 until Mr Morrell’s death, did Mr Morrell claim ownership or any interest in the Galaxie,” Justice Cheryl Gwyn said in deciding on the police application to sell the vehicle.
“Prior to his death, Mr Morrell did not seek to participate in these proceedings in any respect, despite being served with all relevant documentation.”
Justice Gwyn said no one else had come forward claiming ownership of any of the other vehicles.
The Ford Jailbar was not registered to anyone. When he was interviewed by a detective about it, Sulusi said, “It’s rubbish, it’s worth nothing. It belongs to a mate,” but he would not name the mate.
The Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act allows money and assets which have been gained from significant criminal activity to be forfeited to the Crown.
Sulusi’s house, the cabins and vehicles have been subject to a restraining order, which expires on March 29, 2024, while the courts determine what should be done with them.
However, police applied to the High Court to dispose of the Ford F100, the Galaxie, the Chrysler 300C and the Jailbar because of the “significant” storage costs – nearly $20,000 a year – and their likely depreciation.
The F100 is currently valued at $40,000, the Galaxie at $50,000, the F100 at $40,000 and the Jailbar at $20,000.
Justice Gwyn granted the police application to sell the vehicles.
In 2019, the High Court ordered the sale of other assets owned by Sulusi following his earlier conviction - a Ford Falcon utility, a Ford Fairlane, a Holden Commodore, a Mazda Atenza and a motorcycle.
Three of those vehicles had been registered in other people’s names.
Police data shows that consumption of methamphetamine declined nationally during the 2020 Covid lockdown, but prices rose as the restrictions disrupted international supply chains.
A 2019-2020 health survey suggested that about 1 per cent of adults, or approximately 45,000 people, were using meth.
