July 30, 2010

Recordings show prison drug dealing by lifer

Crystal clear cellphone recordings of drug dealing by an inmate from inside Christchurch Men’s Prison where he is already serving a life sentence, were played to a Christchurch District Court hearing.

Dean Waka Nathan has admitted the dealing but denies the scale of the operation, which was under surveillance by the police and eventually busted by their Operation Fudge.

Nathan, 43, is serving a life term after being convicted of the drive-by murder of a rival gang member, Max Shannon, in Linwood.

He was one of three men involved with the Highway 61 gang convicted of murder at the end of a six-week trial in 2001 in the High Court at Christchurch.

He has admitted carrying on the methamphetamine dealing business from inside prison in late 2008 and early 2009 using an illicit cellphone that has never been found by the authorities.

But because the scale of the dealing may affect the sentence he receives, a disputed facts hearing was held before Judge Philip Moran today to hear recordings of conversations between Nathan in prison and his drug contacts on the outside.

The drug was being bought and collected in Auckland and brought south by a drug courier.

The recordings played in court involved talk of transactions of $100,000 and more.

Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier is seeking a sentence with a starting point of 15 years before allowances are made for other factors, including Nathan’s guilty pleas. The crown says a drug courier used by Nathan made at least seven trips to Auckland to pick up drugs.

Defence counsel Tim Fournier says there was less of the drugs involved in the dealing and Nathan should be sentenced under guidelines which indicate a starting point of between eight and 11 years.

Nathan has admitted charges of supplying methamphetamine and conspiring to supply the drug.

The hearing has been scheduled to run all day. Once Judge Moran has made his decision on the amount of drugs involved, a sentencing will be scheduled for another date.