‘Vulnerable’ drug mule spent more on airfares than what he earned transporting meth from Auckland to Nelson

A man caught at Nelson Airport transporting methamphetamine from Auckland spent more on the airfare than what he earned carrying out the task. Photo /Brett Phibbs

It cost a novice drug mule more in airfares to courier methamphetamine between Auckland and Nelson than what he earned from doing the job.

Natia Tupai shed tears as events leading up to his offending were shared in court, including that he had been trying to raise money to pay for a headstone for his mother who died last year, and for whom he still deeply grieved.

Tupai appeared via video link for sentencing in the Nelson District Court on Tuesday, from where he was being held in custody.

“It would be difficult to conceive of a more vulnerable drug mule,” his lawyer Michael Vesty said.

Tupai, 39, was sentenced to 20 months in prison on a representative charge of possessing methamphetamine for supply after he was stopped by police and searched on arrival at Nelson Airport last year.

On two occasions in August and October Tupai boarded a flight from Auckland to Nelson, but it was on the October 26 late-night journey that he was found with a kilogram of meth in his luggage.

He was stopped as part of a wider police investigation into the supply of methamphetamine into the South Island.

The methamphetamine was hidden in clothing in a small bag, within a sports bag. It was still damp, suggesting it had been recently manufactured.

The only reason police knew about the earlier flight was because Tupai told them what he had done, but there was no evidence to prove the alleged quantity of meth he’d been carrying.

Crown prosecutor Jackson Webber described Tupai’s offending as having carried “significant risk with little reward”.

However, it remained a “significant piece of offending” that warranted a term of imprisonment.

Defence lawyer Michael Vesty said Tupai found himself in the “absurd” situation of not getting paid for the first time he transported meth, and then just $500 the second time.

He said the cost of the airfare exceeded what he was paid.

“It was an extraordinary risk for no reward.”

Vesty said Tupai’s situation and the circumstances that led to the offending were nothing short of tragic.

He said Tupai had been trying to raise money to pay for the headstone for the woman he had long considered his mother, having discovered shortly before she died last year that she was not his biological mother.

Tupai had been close to her for a long time and had sacrificed his youth to become her primary caregiver at a time when her health needs were considerable.

He was said to be grief-stricken when she died last year.

Vesty said Tupai had struggled with many conflicts in his life, including his sense of identity which had led to him sinking into methamphetamine use, which had in turn left him making poor life choices and connections.

“It seemed he drifted down the wrong path very quickly with his own (drug) use and risque behaviour,” Vesty said.

Police seized 1kg of methamphetamine from a courier as he landed at Nelson Airport from Auckland. Photo / Police.

He said Tupai had also struggled with learning and literacy and had made 20 attempts at getting his driver’s licence before finally succeeding. Vesty said that displayed a distinct determination in Tupai’s willingness to get ahead.

Tupai, who was raised in urban South Auckland, was concerned about the impact of his offending on his wider family in Samoa, and how he would now be viewed, Vesty said.

“He has no children, no spouse, no partner and no money. He has nothing to return to. It’s a very sad situation for him.”

Judge Jo Rielly said in sentencing Tupai that he suffered not only from grief but also a “persistent social disadvantage” that had led to impaired life choices.

“I am satisfied this was a situation where you were naively not aware of the risks,” she said.

Tupai was given credit for his early guilty pleas, his remorse and his personal circumstances, leading to his final sentence of one year and eight months in prison.

He was granted leave to apply for home detention if a suitable address was found.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.