An Australian national that was part of a criminal group caught smuggling half a tonne of methamphetamine into New Zealand has been sentenced to 24 years in jail.
Malachi Tuilotolava was sentenced in the High Court at Whangarei today to the hefty prison sentence, and will have to serve 10 years before he is eligible for parole.
There have been seven arrests since police seized over $500m worth of meth at Ninety Mile Beach last month. (Source: Other)
Following this, he will be deported to Australia, Justice Matthew Downs confirmed.
Tuilotolava, 26, pleaded guilty in July to being party to the largest importation of methamphetamine this country has ever seen - 501kg, which could have fetched up to half a billion dollars on the street.
In July 2016, he bought a boat for $98,000 with cash and used it to travel 12km out to sea, off Northland, fetch the methamphetamine and return to Ninety Mile Beach.
He was in charge of those tasked to travel to Northland and secure the shipment of the drugs, even though his defence lawyer tried to portray him as a "grunt on the ground".
"As an Australian national with no close ties to New Zealand, you came here only to commit this offending," Justice Downs said.
At least eight others participated in the operation and Tuilotolava is the fourth person to be sentenced for his role in it.
During sentencing, Justice Downs outlined the preparations for the smuggling, including purchasing boxes and hiring campervans, and also that an earlier attempt to launch a smaller nine-metre boat had gone awry.
"You engaged the help of a local. Your group told him the purpose of the launch was to scatter the remains of relatives at sea.
"The ruse was accompanied by a brief ritual on the beach. The local told your group the boat was not suitable for the rough sea conditions - presumably Shipwreck Bay has that name for a reason.
"His warning went unheeded and the boat was severely damaged."
Justice Downs said the group's activities in Northland had raised the suspicions of locals, who alerted police.
A campervan containing 440kg of methamphetamine was seized, and 50kg was found buried in sand dunes.
Four others are awaiting trial next year.
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