Nicola Ann Nevard, 50, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday where she pleaded guilty to more than 30 charges of theft in a special relationship and one each of money laundering and possessing Ritalin.
She was employed at the Fiordland Lobster Company’s Sawyers Bay depot, which processes live crayfish for export to China, and worked her way up to the position of assistant factory manager, court documents said.
But between April and September last year, Nevard used her position of responsibility to skim 1597 crays, worth $212,487.
Her contact in the criminal underworld was 36-year-old patched King Cobras member Paul Faavaoga.
He would place orders via cellphone message — often for 60-80 at a time — and Nevard would pack the seafood into polystyrene bins using ice gel and woodwool to keep them chilled.
According to court documents, at times she would load the produce into her vehicle for delivery and on other occasions she used a local courier.
Faavaoga airfreighted the bulk of the crayfish to associates around the country.
In August, when the scam was it its peak, he placed one order for 110 crays — such a large amount that Nevard had to arrange a company truck to transport them from the factory.
She resigned from her job when she became aware the Ministry for Primary Industries was investigating the rort.
Banking records, obtained by the authorities in the course of the probe, revealed Nevard made cash deposits to her account and also had third parties deposit money.
"On many occasions the same day she received these funds she transferred almost identical amounts to her stepmother’s bank account," a police summary said.
The payments were noted as "mortgage".
Police discovered Nevard’s home was owned by her stepmother and that the defendant received $5570 for the stolen seafood.
When a search warrant was executed at her home, officers found 83 Ritalin tablets in a toiletries bag in her bedroom.
The class-B controlled drug is used to treat ADHD, but is also used recreationally as a stimulant, known to produce feelings of euphoria and increased focus.
While Nevard’s home was being raided — during what was dubbed "Operation Larry" — police and Fisheries officers also descended on the King Cobras’ Dunedin pad in David St.
Faavaoga had been paying the mortgage on that property for a significant period and almost a quarter of the repayments over a three-year span had been funded by crayfish cash.
In April, he pleaded guilty to 29 charges of receiving and two of money laundering.
The court heard Faavaoga unwittingly left a trail for investigators as he would complete airway cargo declaration paperwork to have the stolen seafood airfreighted to associates around the country.
The recipients would usually pay by bank transfer, referenced as "crays".
Faavaoga is scheduled to be sentenced in September, while Nevard was remanded on bail until her sentencing in November.
