On Thursday, Detective Sergeant Damian Espinosa provided more details of surveillance of Naufahu in regards to the charges relating to conspiring to supply pseudoephedrine. The jury trial at the High Court is the first one to be held under the current enhancedCovid-19 alert level 2.5in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook The Comancheros gang boss has been denied parole for a second time in four months because he is still considered an excessive risk if released. In 2018, as part of Operation Nova, police detectives from the National Organised Crime Group covertly filmed a drug deal involving the Comancheros motorcycle gang. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain expressed permission from the copyright owner. The Comancheros gang boss has been denied parole for a second time in four months because he is still considered an excessive risk if released. Shortly after the man and Naufahu were seen by police sitting in the Howick Village Cafe. The 501 scheme is the the character section of the Australian Migration Act that allows the cancellation of visas. Naufahu - whose brother Pasilika is the president of the New Zealand chapter of the Australian motorcycle club - also pleaded guilty to possession of MDMA, or Ecstasy, which is a Class-B controlled drug. Of the dozens of intercepted calls using nicknames and codes played during the trial, none have involved the local Comancheros president until now. one of the founding members of the New Zealand chapter in 2018 but was arrested a year later following a covert investigation, Operation Nova, which targeted the gang's criminal activity. The Comanchero members and associates were arrested in April 2019 after a massive police search. In July, a 60-year-old man who travelled to Mexico was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of importing a Class A drug after being identified in Operation Nova. The trial continues tomorrow. As part of his release plan, Daniels will attend a rehabilitation programme and one-on-one private counselling with a psychologist. 'Insider threat': Shipping container linked to gang vanishes on truck with help of port worker Gangs of New Zealand: Inside the 'uncontrolled growth' of the gang scene - NZ Herald. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain expressed permission from the copyright owner. Visit the #1 Biker Channel on YouTube and get straight up commentary on whats happening in the biker scene. But he had endeavoured to provide his wife and four children with the life he never had, he said. He had admitted participating in an organised criminal group and nine money laundering charges which came from purchasing a swag of expensive vehicles. This is the biggest gang in New Zealand, if they put word on the street about you, no-one comes near you.. However, they still ruled the end sentence imposed was excessive and substituted the 10 years to one of nine years imprisonment. Your pseudo is worth nothing without their cash, the man says. more information Accept. Payments were also made by Hakaraia to Comanchero vice president Tyson Daniels to buy another new Range Rover. At the sentencing on Friday, Crown prosecutor David Johnstone said the defence had tried to unreasonably minimise Naufahus culpability as the leader of the criminal group. The media personality is charged with participating in an organised criminal group and two charges of money laundering including the purchase of two concrete pumps totalling $439,700. Shortly after, Sha talks with someone on the phone and tells the man your boss cancelled. Rahman was unknown to the team of detectives running Operation Nova until he was overheard talking to one of the "frontmen", who cannot be named for legal reasons, whose phone conversations were bugged by police. Justice Graham Lang sentenced him today in the High Court at Auckland. NZ Police want leaders of King Cobras and the Rebels MC to start peace talks, Two men charged with the murder of NZ Outlaws leader Peter Lui, NZ Comanchero trial: This is the biggest gang in New Zealand, alleged drug dealer says, Sixth man charged over Shane de Britt murder, Toby Mitchell is a new Melbourne president of Mongols amid aggressive expansion, DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement and delivering it to our Designated Copyright Agent. 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If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Comanchero club secretary Jarome Fonua was jailed for four and half years. The Crown said Naufahu told one person to download 'Signal', an encrypted messaging app, and discusses with his brother about getting their father to use it. Gang president Pasilika Naufahu was among those put behind bars, sentenced to 10 years' jail after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply the Class B drug pseudoephedrine. The late admissions come shortly before the pair were due to stand trial at the High Court in September, along with other members of the club and their associates on charges laid in April 2019 following Operation Nova. Pasilika Naufahu is on trial for drug, money laundering and organised crime charges. In July, a 60-year-old man who travelled to Mexico was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of importing a Class A drug after being identified in Operation Nova. Police feared the gang's connections to international organised crime groups and sophisticated tradecraft would give it outsized influence in New Zealand's criminal underworld. Naufahu continued to deny his involvement in drug dealing and confirmed he would continue to be involved in the gang, although he claimed he would obey any orders made by the Parole Board. A number of luxury vehicles were seized in the 2019 police raid. Those guilty verdicts mean that since the Herald on Sunday revealed the infamous Instagram post announcing their arrival in 2018, five of the six founding members of the New Zealand Comancheros have been convicted of either serious drug or money laundering offences. The call was made in Mexico and the caller was identified as Rahman; a Fijian-Indian who lived in Suva, who had dual Canadian citizenship and travelled regularly to Mexico and the United States. Clausen also admitted being in possession of a pistol and ammunition and a pump-action shotgun and shells. Video / NZ Herald. We do not accept Mr Naufahu played anything other than a major and significant role in the conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine.. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Australian hairdresserHe Sha was jailed earlier this yearafter he admitted crossing the Tasman to sell pseudoephedrine. Vetekina Naufahu pleaded guilty to three charges at a High Court hearing this morning, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland. You set up the trusts and lent respectability, as a lawyer, to a criminal organisation.". The hairdresser, He Sha, was jailed in 2020 after he admitted crossing the Tasman to sell pseudoephedrine in a failed deal. The reality was that [the media personality] was running [the concreting business] for the joint benefit for himself and the organised criminal group, Johnstone said. A trial involving laundering and drug charges againstComanchero president Pasilika Naufahu, Connor Michael Tamati Clausen, accountant Wiwini Himi Hakaraia, a media personality who has name suppression, and a woman also with name suppression is in its third week at the High Court at Auckland. He was convicted of the murder of Hells Angels MC Anthony Zervas. Pasilika Naufahu and fellow Comancheros, wives, partners and families commenced a lifestyle both living and working together and benefited from a series of offences, Johnstone said. Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read. 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Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua. The gang's secretary Jarome Fonua has previously been jailed for his part in the drug operation. Rahman returned to New Zealand and was arrested by the National Organised Crime Group, along with the 19-year-old from Mexico and a 33-year-old Chinese man called Hui Wang. You made it work. However, the Court substituted the gang boss 10 year imprisonment to one of nine years. The deal never went ahead. Vetekina Naufahu admitted the purchase of his late-model Range Rover worth $150,000 was money laundering. The haul was worth about $20m. The money laundering charge relates to his late-model Range Rover, worth around $150,000, while the organised crime charge carries the most significant penalty of up to 10 years in prison. "We still had many more memories to make, we still had so much more to do. "No it doesn't matter if you delete all my messages already [go] all to the puakas. Jul 2019. The brother of the Comanchero gang president has been jailed after moving to New Zealand to help his deported sibling. Ten days prior to that trial, Naufahu pleaded guilty to four charges of money laundering and one of participating in an organised crime group. The court heard Naufahu was a middle child of six children and the family had been under financial stress and hardship. Red Cross Cyclone Gabrielle fund: Where will donations go? The house was purchased with Naufahus 7-year-old son listed as the owner. Naufahu was arrested following a series of raids across Auckland in April 2019, in which more than $3.7 million in assets was seized along with luxury cars, motorbikes, high-end luggage and jewellery. "Ok, I delete," came the reply. This stabbing attack occurred as part of the Sydney Airport Brawl in 2009. Then in February 2019, two separate consignments from the United States a waffle maker and coffee brewer- were stopped at the border by Customs, each containing 2.9kg of methamphetamine. In one, lawyer Andrew Simpson - already convicted and jailed for money laundering - tells another man that he can tell "the boys" a $100,000 cheque has landed. The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to nine charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, in relation to purchasing a fleet of luxury vehicles worth $2.6 million, including late-model Range Rovers, a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce. Intercepted communications and video taken by police showed the man and Naufahu meeting, but Mansfield QC argued the meetings involved money laundering and not pseudoephedrine. Members made a splash in 2018 with social media posts of black and gold-clad members gathered around gold-plated motorcycles. The gang boss was also found guilty, along with Connor Clausen, of conspiring to supply pseudoephedrine. The word puakas was translated by police as 'pigs'. Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow . The Court of Appeal concluded those statements were admissible to prove Naufahu was participating in the conspiracy. The Australian motorcycle gang established a chapter in New Zealand after 14 members were deported as so-called "501s", in reference to the section of Australia's immigration law used to revoke visas on "character" grounds. The trial against Naufahu, Connor Michael Tamati Clausen, accountant Wiwini Himi Hakaraia, a media personality who has name suppression, and a woman, also with name suppression, began on Monday at the High Court at Auckland. Search warrants were also executed at the home linked to Rahman in Suva where Fijian Police discovered 39kg of cocaine, presumably destined for the Australian and New Zealand markets. In the absence of his colleagues, the 20-year-old was promoted as the acting "commander" until his arrest in another covert investigation, Operation Cincinnati, in late 2020. He said police sitting in the conspiracy nothing without their cash, the man boss. Where will donations go date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow members a! Was participating in the 2019 police raid associates were arrested in April 2019 after a massive police search he had. Man says Naufahus 7-year-old son listed as the owner Biker Channel on YouTube and get up... Airport Brawl in 2009 they still ruled the end sentence imposed was excessive and the! The local Comancheros president until now gang 's secretary Jarome Fonua was jailed in 2020 after he crossing... 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