Punch-up in dock as $3m drugs accused face trial

A man facing burglary and P-related drugs charges punched one of his co-defendants in the face while in the dock, leaving the victim bloodied.

After being asked to stand down, Clarke Castle shook hands with two of the accused before striking Kerry Kakau at a depositions hearing in the Tauranga District Court.

The men were among four defendants facing charges over the seizure of enough chemicals to help make $3 million of the drug in a raid in Mt Maunganui.

Kakau, 34, of Mt Maunganui, briefly left the dock but returned to be committed for trial.

Castle, 32, of Welcome Bay, is likely to face charges for the punch, police said.

It is alleged the pair, with Judea beneficiary Terence Tata, 35, and orchard worker Richard Taingahue, 34, of Greerton, stole a tonne of hypophosphorous acid during a raid on a Totara St factory, where Kakau worked, in January.

The accused allegedly made a previous attempt to take the chemical in December.

They deny two charges of burglary, conspiracy to possess the precursor material hypophosphorous acid, and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Clarke and Tata also denied charges of possession of the acid with intent to manufacture P.

The men will appear in the High Court at Rotorua on June 4 for a trial date to be set.

Police allege that between December 24 and 27, the men entered the plant and unsuccessfully tried to open a locked container where the acid was held and left empty-handed.

Workers noticed there had been an attempt to steal the acid on December 27 and reported the incident to police. Extra security measures were put in place.

Overnight on January 10, the accused allegedly returned with boltcutters and deactivated security lights and used a forklift and boltcutters to gain access to a shipping container in which there was a large drum with about 1000 litres of hypophosphorous acid.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES