High roller loses appeal bid over meth-dealing sentence

We see no appearance of a miscarriage of justice in the approach adopted. Supreme Court justices

A high-stakes poker player jailed for running a large meth-dealing network in Hawke’s Bay has played his last cards in trying to get in front of the Parole Board quicker.

The Supreme Court has turned down an application from Shane Thompson, also known as Shane Tamihana, for an extension of time to appeal his minimum non-parole period in his prison sentence.

Thompson was jailed for 13 years in 2018 after pleading guilty to methamphetamine dealing.

He was also given a non-parole period of six-and-a-half years, meaning he cannot be considered for release before November 2024.

Thompson challenged the nonparole period in the Court of Appeal but lost, and the Supreme Court decision this month means he has run out of options to have it reduced.

When Thompson was sentenced, he was described as the top man in an organised crime network which had pushed $4.2 million worth of meth into the Hawke’s Bay region over 11 months in 2016 and 2017.

Police found a further 2.6kg of the drug at the home of his second-incommand, Petera Gamlen, and more than $170,000 in cash at the two men’s houses.

In 2018, the Court of Appeal described Thompson as “the most comprehensive methamphetamine dealer Hawke’s Bay has ever seen”.

When not drug dealing, he had earlier enjoyed considerable success at the gaming tables, winning the main event at the Sky City casino Festival of Poker in 2016.

He had reportedly earned more than $100,000 from gambling over two years and was known for his aggressive playing and his habit of exclaiming “Later Bo” as he forced his opponents to fold through the strength of his betting.

But after he was sentenced for drug dealing, he was outplayed by the Police Asset Recovery Unit, who went after the riches he gained from his criminal activities and successfully seized them for the Crown.

In 2018, they took five vehicles and $130,000 in cash from Thompson and Gamlen. Last year, they applied successfully for court orders to seize a ute, a Flaxmere house, and cash and bank deposits totalling more than $90,000 under the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act.

Thompson had tried to hide some of his assets by registering the ute under the name John Doe, and the house in the name of a long-term gambling buddy.

In making his bid to the Supreme Court to have his non-parole period reviewed, he argued that the imposition of a minimum period of imprisonment undermined the established regime in the courts for granting discounts for guilty pleas.

He also challenged the weight given at sentencing to his personal circumstances — he was largely raised by his father due to a tragedy in his formative years and had a minimal criminal history.

He said these matters raised questions of general or public importance. The Supreme Court justices, however, said the Court of Appeal had determined the minimum period in prison imposed was appropriate.

“Nothing raised by the applicant calls into question that assessment,” they said. “We see no appearance of a miscarriage of justice in the approach adopted to this case.”

Thompson’s co-offender Gamlen was sentenced in 2018 to 11 years and three months with a minimum nonparole period of five years and seven months.