The organised crime unit has a warrant for the arrest of a Polish man who disappeared before being found guilty in the High Court at Auckland this week of importing drugs.
Maciek Bogdan Korczowski, aged 33, of Meadowbank, failed to appear for the final day of a three-day trial last week for importing amphetamine and possession of amphetamine for supply.
The charges resulted from a joint police and customs operation which intercepted about $800,000 of amphetamine sent to New Zealand in the post.
Korczowski had been free on bail before and during the trial.
When he failed to appear last Friday, the case was adjourned to Tuesday this week.
When he again failed to appear, the defence and judge summed up and the jury went out, coming back with two guilty verdicts.
The charges carry maximum penalties of 14 years' jail.
Police are worried that Korczowski might try to leave the country and have put out airport alerts.
He is described as 191cm (6ft 3in) tall and of thin build. He has a goatee beard and speaks with a pronounced European accent.
Anyone who knows Korczowski's whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Todd Bartlett on 259-0609.
NORTH SHORE
Orewa police say they have cracked a burglary ring that was allegedly targeting show homes. Recent search warrants in Whangaparaoa, and south and central Auckland, located more than $150,000 worth of stolen furniture, paintings and computers.
"The huge amount of property seized at one address required us to hire a removal firm. It took three men, a large truck and 7 1/2 hours to shift the property," said Sergeant Phil Paratene, officer in charge of Orewa police.
The seizures were the culmination of Operation Megasaurus, which resulted in three men and one woman being arrested and charged with burglary, receiving and cannabis offences.
Further arrests are expected.
One of the arrested men pleaded guilty when he appeared in the North Shore District Court this week.
Sergeant Paratene said that about a quarter of the stolen property had been returned to its owners but there was still a warehouse full of unclaimed items.
Police want to hear from show home owners who have been burgled recently. They should call (09) 427-9804.
AUCKLAND
A conman who has ripped off supermarkets in the South Island is believed to have arrived in Auckland.
The man claims to be a shearing contractor. He told staff at a Timaru Countdown store that razor blades he bought were faulty and that two of his workers were in hospital with cut faces.
He was given a refund of $178. He told the same story at another supermarket, pocketing $220, and then "returned" two packs of oil to a service station, receiving $140.
He is thought to have also targeted stores in Christchurch, the West Coast and Marlborough.
In the past two weeks, a man claiming to be a shearer has tried unsuccessfully to exchange goods he picked up from the shelves in Cooper's Bookshop, Otahuhu, and House of Knives in Mt Eden.
The man is distinctive. He walks with a limp, and has a pock-marked face with a moustache. Shopkeepers who have dealt with him say that he gives the impression there is something wrong with him.
He wears dirty clothes and a beanie, and has brown curly hair and blue eyes.
Shopkeepers who are approached by the man should call their local police station.
* * *
Police still need public help to solve the John Timmins mystery. The Auckland lawyer was beaten and left for dead in an Onehunga industrial estate on the night of October 4.
He has told police he cannot remember anything beyond leaving his office in the NZI building about 11 pm.
Police are focusing on movements of his distinctive black 1994, model 325i series BMW.
Surveillance footage shows it leaving the NZI building's Mills Lane entrance about 11 pm but it is not clear who was at the wheel.
The car was found crashed through a fence in Wallace Rd, Mangere Bridge, at 1 am.
A man was seen staring at the crash site.
Earlier, at about midnight, workers at Shieling Laboratories in Hill St, Onehunga, noticed suspicious activity.
They saw an Asian man sitting in a small car, possibly a red hatchback, as well as a black saloon, possibly a BMW.
Anyone who has information on the case should call the Auckland CIB on 379-4240.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from New Zealand
After spending $2m on pins for Covid-19 workers, department now cutting costs
Some 80,000 frontline pandemic workers were given the pins.