Zebulin Mario Davoren (28) is the ringleader of a major criminal drug organisation which, at its peak, spent large amounts of cash on American muscle cars, travel, jewellery and gold bars.
''He is the sort of the person who can buy loyalty,'' Detective Sergeant Stu Hunter, of the Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (OFCANZ), said.
The almost seven-week manhunt had now moved to the South Island, and Dunedin in particular.
''We can't expand on why we think he may be there, but we have reason to believe he may be in Dunedin,'' Det Sgt Hunter told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
It was possible Davoren was being harboured by gang links, as ''cash talks big-time''.
''When you can laugh off a quarter of a million dollars, you know that you have access to a fair bit more.''
Search warrants linked to his group uncovered enough pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine worth $2 million, a kilogram gold bar, more than $500,000 in cash and 10 expensive motor vehicles.
The fugitive might be trying to set up a drug operation or using his previous contacts to remain in hiding, or even trying to flee the country, Det Sgt Hunter said.
''If he is still out there involved in the [drug] scene, well, that is more harm that he is doing to society, and he needs to be held to account for the harm he has caused.
''Everyone would benefit from seeing him back where he belongs.''
Davoren was convicted in the Auckland High Court on October 6 on 31 charges, including manufacturing and supplying methamphetamine.
''The judge had indicated that they were likely to be remanded in custody once the evidence had finished and the jury went into deliberations ... but he decided he wasn't going to wait for that,'' Det Sgt Hunter said.
He was believed to be with his partner, Sophia Leigh Wilson (24), who was found guilty of possessing pseudoephedrine for supply. The pair were possibly travelling in a distinctive white Lincoln Town Car, with the registration HNP702. The couple should not be approached, Det Sgt Hunter said.
And that money? ''We have got all that we could locate.''
Davoren had a penchant for American muscle cars, but when doing drug deals, members ''would drive around in Holden Barinas or Daihatsu Charades ... very nondescript vehicles''.
Davoren also mentored others on how to make methamphetamine and had an extensive distribution network while presiding over ''his faithful little followers''.
His criminal network was uncovered when a meth lab exploded in the Auckland suburb of Glendene, in December 2011.
''We went electronic on them and listened in to their phone calls ... and they evolved somewhat, starting off with manufacturing and then, after the explosion, thought this wasn't the safest way to do it and moved into the supply of pseudoephedrine.''
That OFCANZ investigation - dubbed Operation Jericho - uncovered a network of methamphetamine cooks, suppliers and dealers across Auckland. Chinese-sourced pseudoephedrine was supplied in large amounts to people, including the Head Hunters gang, Det Sgt Hunter said.
However, questions remained as to how they sourced large quantities of the precursor chemical, which was used to produce about 1kg of methamphetamine at a time.
''They had access to a lot of it, at very short notice.''
This week, a Head Hunters gang member was sentenced to four years' jail for ''his minor role'', while others from Operation Jericho received sentences ranging from home detention to 14 years' jail.
Anyone with information about the pair is urged to contact Det Sgt Hunter on (021) 191-6117, or anonymously via the Crimestoppers line on (0800) 555-111.
