Alleged meth cook’s ‘sticky’ situation

A man accused of cooking methamphetamine for a drug-dealing Hells Angels member was in a panicked state when police showed up at what they say is the man’s meth lab.

Fluids were thrown from the alleged lab, while the man was unable to be handcuffed due to a sticky substance on his hands.

Scott James Allan and Andrew ‘‘Sess’’ John Sisson are on trial in the Palmerston North District Court, accused of being involved in a methamphetamine dealing ring.

The police investigation, dubbed Operation Buckle, targeted Palmerston North-based Hells Angels member Daron Ian Charles Gilmore.

Police say Gilmore sourced his meth from Sisson in Auckland – the Crown says Sisson is an Auckland-based Hells Angels president – before distributing it to street dealers.

Allan allegedly cooked meth for Gilmore when the first Covid-19 lockdown made sourcing the drug difficult.

Cain Tupurupuru Liddington and Brendon Ross Richardson, who were arraigned when the trial began, are no longer part of the trial.

Much of yesterday’s evidence related to Allan. Detective Tim Marshall told the court he was part of a team that searched Allan’s Bunnythorpe property in mid-2020.

Marshall said he saw fluids and items, including a black bucket, being thrown out of a shipping container when he arrived.

He saw Allan, whom he recognised, in the container.

Despite being told to exit several times, Allan, who was wearing a shirt with the number 81 emblazoned on it, stayed inside.

The trial earlier heard the number 81 was significant to Hells Angels, with H the eighth number in the alphabet and A the first.

‘‘He was just frantically looking around,’’ Marshall said.

‘‘He looked like he had other things on his mind.’’

Allan was taken out of the container and placed on the ground.

Marshall had difficulty putting plasticuffs – something akin to two zip ties – on Allan.

‘‘He was covered in a sticky, slimy substance that seemed to be everywhere.

‘‘When I put my hands on his hands, they were just slippery.’’

It was not long before the strong smell of chemicals wafted through the air, Marshall said.

ESR forensic scientist Erina Mayo, who started her evidence by giving the jury a crash course on how to make meth, said multiple items at the Bunnythorpe address could be used to make the drug.

Precursor ingredients, distillation equipment, pots, burners and more were all present.

Meth was also found, as well as traces of it on various surfaces, she said.

Auckland-based Detective Logan Delamere, who was part of the search of Sisson’s address, said officers took various items, including cellphones and documents.

He agreed when Sisson’s lawyer, Mark Ryan, put to him that police had found no typical drug dealing paraphernalia like tick lists, drug scoops or large quantities of cash.

‘‘Nothing that made the alarm bells go off.’’

The trial continues today.