"He is intelligent. Pasilika Naufahu was sentenced by Justice Graham Lang on Friday. Earlier this year,lawyer Andrew Simpson and Danielswere jailed for their involvement. Mansfield said Naufahu has never shied away from admitting to being the president of the New Zealand chapter of the Comanchero gang. The gang boss was also found guilty, along with Connor Clausen, of conspiring to supply pseudoephedrine. Fonua, the gang's secretary was sentenced to four years and six months and drug runner Connor Clausen was jailed in December for three years and eight months. 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. At school Naufahu was bullied for his speech and skin colour, and he used violence to deal with this which won the approval of his father who had previously been violent. The president of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club has had a year knocked off his jail term. After a lengthy and high-profile jury trial last year, Naufahu was found guilty of two money-laundering charges - one in respect of a Ford Ranger and the other a $102,075 Bentley. 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. He had admitted participating in an organised criminal group and nine money laundering charges which came from purchasing a swag of expensive vehicles. You set up the trusts and lent respectability, as a lawyer, to a criminal organisation.". The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Justice Lang accepted the offending was bought about to ensure his family did not suffer the same financial hardship he had growing up. Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua. In the recording, the man can be heard getting frustrated with Sha talking about a deal that he can make nearly half a million dollars from. 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. A concreting business was used as a disguise to pay salaries to the group and the media personality was listed as the director, the court heard. The court heard Naufahu was a middle child of six children and the family had been under financial stress and hardship. But another thing the success of the group bought with it was a problem, the problem was how to hide the crimes that were generating all the money, Johnstone said. Biker News does not belong to or support any Club. Speaking to other mourners at Gino Vella's January funeral, he proudly wore the Rebels patch - the mark of a gang that his father "paved the way" for - and declared "Rebels Forever, Forever Rebels.". We believe this corresponds with a fair use of any such copyrighted material (referenced and provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). 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. 1 Dec, 2021 01:00 AM . Naufahu, who lived. The sentencing of Comanchero vice- president Tyson Daniels and lawyer Andrew Simpson; inset, Jarome Fonua; below, two of the vehicles seized. 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. In response, police launched Operation Nova, eventually terminated in April 2019 when most of the Comancheros' hierarchy were arrested and charged with money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group. Photo: Jason Oxenham / NZH, This gold-plated motorcycle was among the assets seized in Operation Nova. All rights reserved. At trial, the Crown said Naufahu was the source of $1m which was meant to be used to purchase pseudoephedrine, but the suppliers withdrew. The 501 scheme is the the character section of the Australian Migration Act that allows the cancellation of visas. Shortly after the man and Naufahu were seen by police sitting in the Howick Village Cafe. Their shared trial had started with five defendants but that number dropped by two when several charges were withdrawn midway. "We are satisfied he is at high risk of re-offending given his past, given his personality, and given his involvement in the Comancheros gang.". Former ACT president of Comancheros bikie gang Peter Zdravkovic jailed over fraud, drug possession Victoria Police Police Detective Horrific Arrest Melbourne Fight South Possible explosives found in Narre Warren after two Comanchero bikies arrested Melbourne Restaurants Fire Inside Concert Concerts Bikies arrested after Melbourne shootout Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow . Officers then observed the ute park up in Howick next to a white Range Rover. Naufahu - whose brother Pasilika is the president of the New Zealand chapter of the Australian motorcycle gang - also pleaded guilty to possession of MDMA, or Ecstasy, which is a Class-B controlled drug. Around the same time, a consignment of a kitchen stovetops shipped from the United States had been seized by Customs and examined. This (is) that new s***," Meehan wrote in the Instagram post announcing the switch which saw the pair posed in with a motorcycle and the Comanchero insignia. 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 idea of him as a supportive father and husband is completely inconsistent with his desire to continue on in the Comancheros gang and the prospect of further offending if released.". Naufahu, however, believed he had been treated seriously unfairly and he would not be transferred to another prison to complete the programme. Comancheros boss Pasilika Naufahu has been sentenced to ten years in prison after last year being found guilty of money laundering and conspiring to supply drugs. Tallat Rahman, from Suva, was arrested in February 2019 in the first phase of the inquiry, which discovered how parcels of methamphetamine weighing up to 5kg were hidden inside kitchen appliances shipped from the United States. Copyright Star Media Network 2019. New York Times: Dark growth, fed by alcohol vapours, coats homes, cars and road signs. Comancheros gang president Pasilika Naufahu jailed for 10 years Catrin Owen 10:42, Feb 19 2021 RICKY WILSON/STUFF Pasilika Naufahu was sentenced by Justice Graham Lang on Friday. The five were arrestedfollowing a series of raidsacross Auckland in April 2019 in which more than $3.7 million in assets were seized along withluxury cars, motorbikes, high-end luggageand jewellery. Everything went quiet until Rahman flew into Auckland International Airport on December 18, 2018, and checked into a hotel on Queen St, the Four Points by Sheraton. The brother of the Comanchero gang president has been jailed after moving to New Zealand to help his deported sibling. 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. 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. When Jesse Vella stood to farewell his father, he must have appeared the picture of loyalty. "He did not think in any event that programme would be helpful for him because he did not consider he was a violent person and so that would be essentially a waste of time for him.". 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. And it came just days after "Mick" Hawi, the former national president of the Comancheros in Australia, was fatally gunned down in a Sydney gym carpark, by two masked men in broad daylight. Jurors are also sitting in front of plastic screens. Ten days prior to that trial, Naufahu pleaded guilty to four charges of money laundering and one of participating in an organised crime group. At trial, the Crowns case was that Naufahu arrived in New Zealand with zero dollars in his bank account. Intercepted communications from September 20, 2018, from an audio device fitted in a vehicle were played to the jury on Thursday. In sentencing Daniels who was wearing a Versace top in Comanchero colours of black and gold to four years and eight months in prison, Justice Gerard van Bohemen said the senior club member played a crucial role overseeing the clubs operations for significant personal gain. Bullied at school, Naufahu found the way to deal with this was violence, which won the approval of his father, he said. We do not accept Mr Naufahu played anything other than a major and significant role in the conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine.. Once in New Zealand, the police allege the drugs were distributed by frontmen for the Comanchero, whose hierarchy allegedly reaped the rewards of the illicit trade. Earlier, two other men, one of whom will be called as a witness, discuss buying an airplane and whether the particular model could fly all the way from Auckland to Fiji without stopping for fuel. The Parole Board imposed special conditions on his release until his sentence officially ends in May 2024. "I deeply regret a father being separated from his family. Over the course of three years, more than a million dollars was deposited and withdrawn. Photo / Supplied In sentencing Daniels - who was wearing a black and gold Versace top - to four years and eight months. Naufahu was jailed for 10 years by Justice Graham Lang in February over his role in a sophisticated money laundering and drugs scheme. Daniels was sentenced to four years and eight months after he pleaded guilty to participating in an organised criminal group and nine counts of money laundering. Two more people involved with the Comancheros motorcycle gang have been sentenced after police surveilled a failed million dollar drug deal and a money launderer funnelling stacks of cash through. It talks about being able to pay off $200,000 of a mortgage, and spend the rest of his life on holiday around the world. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua. Others jailed by Operation NovaComancheros vice-president Tyson Daniels has already been sentenced to four years and eight months' imprisonment. Australian hairdresserHe Sha was jailed earlier this yearafter he admitted crossing the Tasman to sell pseudoephedrine. A psychologist considered a special treatment programme for violent offending would adequately meet Naufahu's rehabilitative needs. On the sentence appeal, Mansfield QC argued Justice Lang gave insufficient credit to reflect the challenges Naufahu has faced. One of the Comanchero members pictured is Pasilika Naufahu, once a senior member of the gang in Sydney, who was deported two years ago, according to the New Zealand Herald. Make sure you have subscribed to our Facebook page or Twitter to stay tuned! However, they still ruled the end sentence imposed was excessive and substituted the 10 years to one of nine years imprisonment. But the police allege the Comanchero, an Australian motorcycle club which set up shop in New Zealand after a number of senior members were deported here, are behind significant drug smuggling linked to a Mexican cartel. You know the puakas get all my messages," the text read. This didn't occur during his upbringing in Sydney, but in 2016 when he was deported to New Zealand under the 501 scheme, without any meaningful support or guidance. Young said the board was confident the programme recommended was the appropriate risk-based treatment for him and hoped he would undertake it with an open mind. Daniels, the vice-president, was later convicted along with president Pasilika Naufahu and his brother Vetekina, as well as the club's treasurer, Jarome Fonua. By Leighton Keith, Open Justice reporter of, Comanchero Motorcycle Club president Pasilika Naufahu has been denied parole for a second time in four months. Photo: Supplied, The Comancheros posted photographs on Instagram to announce the establishment of a New Zealand chapter. "We still had many more memories to make, we still had so much more to do. I've banked those cheques about a 100,000 in Kiwi's one. Police bugged cellphones belonging to members and associates of the Comancheros gang, listening live to calls almost a year before raiding the bikies in a major bust. 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. There was nearly 5kg of methamphetamine inside. 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. more information Accept. 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. This stabbing attack occurred as part of the Sydney Airport Brawl in 2009. Make sure you have subscribed to our Facebook page or Twitter to stay tuned! "You were the president of the Comancheros" and as such were in a position of influence, Justice Lang said to Naufahu. Treatment programme for violent offending would adequately meet Naufahu 's rehabilitative needs a father being separated from his family not. After moving to New Zealand with zero dollars in his bank account he. - who was wearing a black and gold Versace top - to four years and eight.! The cookie settings on this website are set to `` allow cookies '' to you... Any Club Dark growth, fed by alcohol vapours, coats homes, cars road... 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