Drug smuggler’s life could be in danger if deported, suggests PM
Drug smuggler Karel Sroubek’s life could be in danger if he were deported, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggested during her post-Cabinet press conference yesterday.
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway granted residency to Sroubek despite Sroubek’s use of a false passport to get to New Zealand, his gang associations, and the jail time he is currently serving for drug smuggling.
“Just glancing back at some of the past coverage of his entry into New Zealand,” Ardern said, “Reading between the lines you could ascertain why the minister made the decision he made.”
She said she was not in a position to share more information.
“The ramifications for this individual for breaching what the minister has set down [in writing — his final warning] are pretty significant.”
She said the minister had all the information in front of him, and such decisions were not easy, regardless of which party was in Government.
National Party leader Simon Bridges has called for LeesGalloway’s resignation while justice spokesman Mark Mitchell Mitchell took to Twitter yesterday to vent his frustration, saying he would travel to the Czech Republic “to get to the bottom of it” if he had to.
“I advanced cases this year of good productive law abiding citizens who were declined. This just feels rotten,” Mitchell said on Twitter.
He later told the Herald: “I think Iain Lees-Galloway has made a terrible decision around this, and if he’s not transparent, we have to look at our options in Opposition.”
Lees-Galloway earlier released the conditions around Sroubek’s residency, which included not being convicted of any offence, not using any fraudulent identity, and not providing and false information to a government agency for the next five years — starting from when Sroubek is released from prison.
“I have given you one final chance to remain in New Zealand and this should serve as a clear warning to you.”
Lees-Galloway used his power of “absolute discretion” to cancel deportation liability and grant residence to Sroubek, also known as Jan Antolik.
Lees-Galloway said he would not comment on the details of his decision because of privacy and legal reasons, “as is standard practice for all administrations”.
“Any breach of these conditions is likely to lead to his deportation. As I have conveyed to him, I’ve given him one final chance to remain in New Zealand and live within our laws,” Lees-Galloway said in a statement.
One factor thought to be taken into account is whether Sroubek’s life would be in danger if he were deported.
It was also a factor after he was found guilty of using a false passport and lying to immigration officials in 2011.
Judge Roy Wade discharged Sroubek without conviction, convinced that Sroubek would be in danger from corrupt Czech authorities and the man he helped convict of murder if he were deported.
He added that Sroubek had made a positive contribution to New Zealand through his kickboxing prowess and business success.
Sroubek came to New Zealand from the Czech Republic in September 2003 to start a new life as Jan Antolik, after fleeing corrupt police who wanted him to lie and clear the main suspect in a murder investigation.
Instead, he left a videotaped witness statement which was later crucial in convicting the killer.
He fled the Czech Republic with a doctored passport but was unmasked in October 2009 when Czech police gave New Zealand police details of his identity and an arrest warrant on minor charges in connection with the 2003 murder.
Sroubek pleaded not guilty to the charges but admitted using a false identity to come to New Zealand.
Sroubek was jailed in 2016 for five years and nine months after being convicted of importing 5kg of MDMA with a street value of $375,000.