A man who pleaded guilty to 36 drugs charges after a major police drug operation has been jailed for five years and six months.
Regimen Martin appeared for sentence in the High Court at Whangarei after earlier pleading guilty to 14 counts of offering to supply methamphetamine, nine of supplying meth, three of conspiring to manufacture meth, three of conspiracy to supply meth, three of possessing meth for supply, one of possessing meth, two of offering to supply cannabis and one count of selling cannabis.
Martin was caught as part of the police's Operation Atlas in December 2015. During those drug raids targeting the Head Hunters gang and associates, police seized 40g of methamphetamine with a street value of $400,000, $20,000 cash and stolen gold jewellery that had been melted down.
Sentencing judge Justice Graham Lang said the maximum penalty for importing methamphetamine was life imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years, while the maximum for the cannabis charges was seven years in prison.
Justice Lang said Martin became involved because of his connection to the Head Hunters, which led him into the manufacture and dealing of drugs.
He said Martin had expressed remorse and would not be in court if he had not got involved with the gang. Martin had since severed his ties to the gang.
Justice Lang sentenced Martin to five years and six months jail on the methamphetamine charges and a concurrent one year jail sentence on the cannabis charges.