Mongrel Mob member Boycee Linton Junior Karetu (36) was identified by the city’s organised crime squad as a methamphetamine supplier in mid-2021, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
When they prepared to arrest him five months later they had electronic evidence of his illicit endeavours but there was much more to come.
Karetu was returning to his vehicle when armed police stormed Carey St in South Dunedin.
In a shoulder bag, the defendant had $1600 in $20 notes but officers hit the jackpot when they searched his car.
Inside a Versace box there were four bundles of cash totalling $16,000.
Back at the station, Karetu was reluctant to be searched by police and it soon became clear why.
In a bandana tied to his penis were two large pill bottles and a cling-wrapped package.
In total there was nearly 35g of methamphetamine and 81 tabs of LSD.
Together the crotch cache had a street value of up to $26,390.
Police also raided Karetu’s home where they found 11 12-gauge shotgun cartridges.
An electronic analysis of the defendant’s communications found he offered to supply meth in varying quantities eight times over two and a half months, court documents said.
Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said her client was a street-level dealer operating predominantly to fund his own addiction.
Judge Kevin Phillips said that needed to be taken "with a grain of salt".
"He clearly was dealing with larger quantities of meth than just points [0.1g] ... he was covering the whole market.
"I find his operational function was primarily for financial advantage rather than just for the addiction he had."
The court heard Karetu had spent 14 months undertaking residential rehabilitation programmes while on electronically monitored bail, and had passed all drug tests during that period.
"There’s an ongoing desire to stay on top of the issue," Ms Saunderson-Warner said.
On three drugs charges, as well as possessing ammunition and obstructing police, the defendant was jailed for two years and four months.
Police heralded Karetu’s arrest in a press release after his arrest in December 2021.
A spokesman said the operation was part of its commitment to disrupting and dismantling drug networks.
"We want to help build resilient communities that thrive in the absence of illicit drugs and drug-related offending," he said.
Karetu did not oppose the $17,600 cash he was found with being forfeited under the proceeds-of-crime legislation.
The matter was soon to be resolved in the civil jurisdiction, Ms Saunderson-Warner said.
