A patched Black Power member and father-of-five who brought $100,000 of the drug P to Dunedin on a domestic flight says he wants to change for his whanau.
Bay of Plenty man William Johnathon Wiki appeared before the Dunedin District Court this afternoon having admitted charges of possessing methamphetamine for supply, conspiracy to supply it, offering to supply it and offering to supply cannabis.
The 35-year-old was jailed for six years.
Wiki read a letter in court today, which Judge Kevin Phillips described as “very well written”.
“I am now 12 months clean from using [methamphetamine] and have come to understand the damage it does to communities, families and children - the whole ripple effect it has,” the defendant said.
“I can truly see the damage I've done to my friends and whanau.”
Wiki accepted he was supposed to be a role model to his five children, but had been overwhelmed by his addiction.
“It gave me the impression I was invincible and nothing else mattered,” he said.
Wiki and a co-defendant had been under police surveillance for a few weeks before they boarded a flight from Tauranga to Dunedin on September 9 last year.
The pair checked in one piece of luggage each and transferred in Christchurch without incident.
However, when they arrived at Dunedin Airport at 10am, police were waiting.
The defendants were confronted by officers and Wiki ran. He threw one bag he was holding onto the ground and another onto the roof of the terminal before being apprehended.
The luggage on the ground contained 5gm of the class-A drug and a glass pipe for smoking it, while the other case held 99gm.
P can sell for $1000 a gram on the street.
Court documents show police got wind of Wiki's illegal activity more than a month before the airport incident.
On August 12, the Auckland High Court granted a surveillance warrant allowing police to intercept cellphone communications of his co-accused.
“It was learned that he was travelling to the South Island with the co-defendant . . . with a large quantity of methamphetamine to distribute to associates in the South Island,” a summary said.
The intercepted conversations showed “evidence of extensive drug dealing”, police said.
Between August 24 and September 2, Wiki offered to supply 38.26gm of the class-A substance.
And during the same period, he also agreed to sell 479gm of cannabis, worth $7200.
Defence counsel Peter Kaye asked for today's sentencing to be adjourned to be heard at the Ivercargill District Court because his client was undergoing a drug rehabilitation course in prison there.
That request was declined by Judge Phillips, but he commended the defendant for trying to turn his life around.
However, it came with a warning.
“You have to walk the talk. It's not going to be easy,” he said.
The judge said Wiki could only truly reform if he cut ties with the gang and left his high-ranking position.
A probation report assessed the defendant as a high risk of reoffending and noted his loyalty remained with Black Power.
Wiki told the court the time behind bars had been an unexpected blessing.
“I'm kind of grateful I've had this time in prison to get clean and become insightful,” he said.
“I am young enough to make another path in my life.”
