Six remanded over $135m methamphetamine haul

Six men at the centre of an alleged $135 million methamphetamine importing racket were yesterday remanded to depositions hearings scheduled for early August.

Guo Wei Deng, 43, Li Fan, 28, Weifeng Pan, 35, Kin Kwok Leung, 66, Ming Chin Chen, 42, all unemployed, and Yonglai Zhang appeared in Auckland District Court yesterday.

All, with the exception of Pan, were remanded in custody to August 11.

Another defendant, Kai Lok Fung, 41, tour guide, is yet to return to court.

The men were arrested in late May after two raids in which police and Customs discovered the drugs hidden inside two shipping containers originating from China.

One of the containers contained what police estimated to be $95 million worth of pure methamphetamine, commonly known as P. The other contained $40 million worth of pseudoephedrine, a substance used to make the drug.

The haul was the largest its kind in New Zealand.