September 13, 2012

Jury should 'decode' conversations, says Crown

By David Clarkson

A jury has been set the task of interpreting ?coded? conversations presented in the evidence in the long-running Operation Granite drugs conspiracy, said the Crown in its closing address.

Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes addressed the jury yesterday, on the 19th day of the trial before Justice Christian Whata in the High Court at Christchurch.

Defence closing addresses will be heard today and Friday and Justice Whata will sum up for the jury on Monday.

Five men are on trial on charges of conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine, various drug charges, and two face charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

Hawes told the jury the Crown said it was a significant and well organised commercial operation with Matthew Allen Newton, an unemployed 29-year-old at the centre of it.

?Matthew Newton was at the centre of methamphetamine manufacture and distribution in Christchurch. The evidence of that is simply overwhelming. He was running a business making significant amounts of money, in cash.?

The Crown said the items found at a Cashel Street address ? said to be Newton?s address ? were significant indicators of what was happening. The items were found in one of several police raids on properties in Christchurch, Lyttelton, and Ashburton, on June 9, 2010, at the end of the six-week Operation Granite surveillance and interception investigation.

Hawes said $80,000 worth of very high quality methamphetamine was found in the freezer, as well as $20,000 of cash bound with rubber bands, and various items used to manufacture methamphetamine, including the drug pseudo-ephedrine.

The investigation recorded 57,000 phone conversations and texts, and about 2000 of those had been put before the jury. Hawes said some conversations were very open, discussing such items as cars, but others were very guarded about what was under discussion.

The jury had to decide what was being discussed, because the alleged conspirators talked in code, sometimes saying they were ?hungry? or ?starving? when they wanted drugs.

They used words such as ?product? for drugs, or ?rits? for Ritalin. When they talked about ?KFC?, were they discussing chicken or were they talking about methamphetamine, he asked.

The urged the jury to consider the context of the conversations, and pointed out that in one conversation, the speaker spoke about ?50 quarterpacks?.

The Crown alleges those on trial with Newton were ?cooks? who were making the drugs, a financier for the operation, and a Chinese-born man providing some of the necessary chemicals.

The trial is continuing.