An Inmate inside Rimutaka prison managed to import 15 million dollars worth of illegal substances using only smuggled cellphones.
The substances were hidden in various items, including meth-soaked book pages, hockey balls, the inside of car seats, a washing machine drum and truck mirrors.
The jailed gang member was already behind bars for drug offences when he used several illicit phones to orchestrate the importation of 50kg of drugs.
He admitted to five charges of importing 50kg of class A and B drugs, including 35.92kg of methamphetamine, 684g of cocaine, 5.3kg of pseudoephedrine, 6kg of ephedrine and 2.46 kg of MDMA.
The Inmate was initially jailed back in 2021 after Police found methamphetamine, cash and phone records showing that he was actively supplying methamphetamine.
From behind bars, he ordered the drugs from an overseas associate identified as “Blakman.”
He would then order associates from outside the prison to sell and deliver the drugs to addresses all over the North Island.
The illicit substances were Labelled as truck and bus mirrors from Namibia, car head lamps from the United Kingdom, watches from Malaysia, a washing machine drum from Tanzania, wooden dishes from Afghanistan, hockey kits from Pakistan and even books infused with methamphetamine, a total of 35kg of methamphetamine was imported, valued at $13.2m.
Photo Credit: RNZ
