Elite school prefect jailed for meth trafficking
Maureen Okoduwa left, wears an outfit made from recycled newspapers, receives makeup back stage before a “trashion show”
in Sangotedo Lagos, Nigeria on Saturday.
Iteoluwa Olukanmi, left, and Success John Nzoribe, right, wear outfits made from recycled bottles, receive makeup back stage before a “trashion show” in Sangotedo Lagos,
Nigeria on Saturday.
A FORMER head boy and student rugby standout who was once considered a hot prospect for professional rugby with the Blues in New Zealand stood in a packed courtroom last week as he was sentenced for his part in a large-scale Comancheros-run methamphetamine supply scheme.
Justice Neil Campbell ordered Lemeki Namoa – described by his lawyer as a “golden boy” who became vulnerable to bad influences after his lifelong dream started to falter – to serve 12 months of home detention, NZ Herald reports.
Just five years earlier, Namoa had been earning praise as captain of Sacred Heart College’s First XV rugby team and head prefect at the prestigious Auckland school.
The praise continued after school, and in 2019 the outside back was named the Blues’ development player of the year. But in 2020 the Blues opted not to re-sign him.
He grew up with friends who would later join the Comancheros motorcycle gang, and although he never expressed an interest in joining the gang himself he reconnected with the old friends as his rugby goals hit a roadblock, defence lawyer Tiffany Cooper said.
“He didn’t seek them out and they didn’t seek him out,” Ms Cooper said.
Among his friends was acting national commander of the Comancheros Seiana Fakaosilea, for whom he would perform “limited functions”, authorities alleged.
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