Drug importer’s evidence destruction fail

A drug importer’s attempts to destroy evidence failed to throw police off the trail of his illegal activities.

Leigh James Thomas is looking at a lengthy prison stay as a result.

The 30-year-old appeared in the Palmerston North District Court on Thursday facing a range of charges.

Defence lawyer Steve Winter said Thomas accepted what he was charged with: Importing methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, and precursors and equipment needed to make methamphetamine.

Thomas was arrested as part of Operation Wax, a police investigation focused on the importation of drugs into the Himatangi Beach area, to the west of Palmerston North.

According to a court summary, Thomas imported packages into New Zealand from various countries during a four-month period in 2015.

The packages were addressed to three different Himatangi Beach properties that Thomas had connections to. He imported 52.76 grams of methamphetamine, 1.06g of cocaine, 22 ecstasy tabs and 202g of red phosphorus acid.

Police estimated that was enough acid to make 282g of methamphetamine.

The packages were disguised, labelled as containing toys, cellphone packaging samples and phone accessories.

He also tried to import laboratory equipment typically used to make methamphetamine. Police raided the three Himatangi Beach houses in March 2016, finding Thomas in one of them.

He grabbed his laptop and poured liquid on it when he heard what police were doing, in an effort to destroy evidence.

But this failed, with a police analysis of the laptop finding evidence that Thomas had searched for methamphetamine recipes and information about chemicals like pseudoephedrine and phosphorus, typically used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Winter said Thomas wanted to be sentenced on Thursday, but Judge Lance Rowe said he was ‘‘flying far too blind’’ to do so.

He kept Thomas in custody until Monday, where a judge more familiar with the file would possibly do the sentencing.