Two men have appeared in court charged in relation to a police operation in the Waikato that uncovered methamphetamine understood to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
Two men appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Thursday, each charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply.
One of the men, a 47-year-old from the suburb of Sylvania in Sydney, Australia, pleaded not guilty to the charge and elected trial by jury. The man, who is being represented in court by Hamilton lawyer Charles Bean, will next appear in the same court for a case review hearing on December 19.
His co-accused, a 38-year-old who lives in Tamahere, south of Hamilton, was represented in court by Jarom Keung of the Public Defence Service. He was remanded in custody and without plea to next appear on October 4.
Both men were granted interim name suppression until their next appearances.
The maximum penalty for possession of methamphetamine for supply is life imprisonment.
Sources have informed Stuff that the estimated value of methamphetamine recovered by the police in relation to the arrests runs to many millions of dollars.
But police were staying tight-lipped about the arrests.
Detective Inspector Paul Newman of the National Organised Crime Group said only that police “have seized a significant amount of methamphetamine at an address in the Waikato”.
He could not comment any further due to “operational reasons”.
Source - stuff
