Man admits having gear to make meth, denies cooking

A man seen throwing methamphetamine ingredients into the rain shortly before his arrest says he knew he had meth-making equipment but never used it.

Scott James Allan says the gear came from a defunct motorcycle club he used to belong to.

He spent all yesterday in the witness box in the Palmerston North District Court telling a jury he had no plans to be part of a meth ring run by fellow Hells Angels member Daron Ian Charles Gilmore.

Gilmore, a meth dealer who has already pleaded guilty to charges, was the target of Operation Buckle, a police investigation into meth supply in Manawatū .

While many people have pleaded guilty to charges, Allan and Andrew Sisson are on trial.

Sisson denies being Gilmore’s wholesale supplier, while Allan denies manufacturing meth in April 2020 and conspiring to be part of Gilmore’s supply network.

Police say Allan cooked meth once for Gilmore and was arrested at his Bunnythorpe property in June 2020 partway through a cook.

An officer earlier told the trial they spotted Allan throwing liquid and materials out of a shipping container when police executed a search warrant.

Allan said the container contained equipment previously belonging to the Mothers Motorcycle Club, which he belonged to before joining the Hells Angels.

While an officer told the trial the Mothers were patched over by the Hells Angels, Allan said the club ‘‘sold up’’ in 2016 with property from their clubhouse being put in containers.

He got one of those containers moved to his property in May 2020.

He discovered the container had meth equipment at the back after he moved other items out.

‘‘I realised pretty quick what I was looking at.

‘‘There was a parr bomb in the first box.’’

A parr bomb is a piece of equipment used to make meth.

He left the equipment inside, but ran into the container and started throwing precursors out when police searched his house, he said.

Crown prosecutor Deborah Davies reminded Allan he had pleaded guilty to possessing precursors, measuring jugs, distillations gear, parr bombs and burners with the intention of making meth.

He also told police who arrested him he had precursors, there was no ‘‘cook’’ taking place and he knew who had set him up, Davies said.

Allan said he had pleaded guilty, but he had no intention of cooking meth.

He threw items out of the container when police arrived because he was panicking, he said.

Allan said the container contained equipment previously belonging to the Mothers Motorcycle Club.