Drug dealer ‘walks the talk’ on rehab and offers apology, but still gets sent to jail

Sovite Sua's texts revealed he was buying methamphetamine and selling it at street level. Photo / NZME

A drug dealer has been sent back to jail despite a judge giving him credit for beginning to “walk the talk” by completing a rehabilitation programme.

Sovite Sua, 51, was sentenced in the Napier District Court on Friday on 21 charges including supplying methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine and cannabis for supply.

Judge Gordon Matenga jailed him for 2½ years despite an appeal by defence counsel Chris Tennet that Sua be sentenced to home detention.

Tennet said Sua was on a “path to redemption”, having graduated this week after completing the Salvation Army’s Bridge Programme for substance abuse.

Tennet said Sua had also spent eight months in custody on remand and nearly seven months on electronically monitored bail, which involves a 24-hour curfew.

But even after Judge Matenga gave Sua credit in calculating his sentence, for his time on restrictive bail and his rehabilitative efforts, he still arrived at a prison term of 30 months.

The threshold where home detention becomes an option is 24 months.

Judge Matenga also gave Sua credit for his expression of remorse, made in a statement Sua read to the court.

In it, he said he had worked to confront his past mistakes, was committed to making better choices in future, and to living a life that reflected the values of responsibility and accountability.

“I take full responsibility for the harm and suffering I have caused,” Sua said.

Judge Matenga said it was a well-written apology.

“It shows you are an intelligent man. It’s a shame that intelligence has not had its full use or benefit other than some of it was diverted to your criminal offending.”

Judge Matenga said police intercepted texts between January and June 2021 which showed Sua sourcing amounts of up to an ounce (28 grams) of methamphetamine and selling the drug at street level.

A search of his home in July 2021 turned up methamphetamine, cannabis, unused snaplock bags, electronic scales, a notebook detailing methamphetamine customers’ debts and a bumbag containing $3280 in cash.

A further search when Sua was on bail in December 2021 found more drugs and $5770 in cash.

In total, the offending involved 142g of meth and 61g of cannabis.

Judge Matenga said Sua had been in a “vicious cycle” in which addiction led to offending, which then fed the addiction. The offending became normalised

“The fact that you bought and sold drugs to maintain that lifestyle was just part of you,” he said.

“Since then you have been taking great strides forward and have told the court you are committed to rehabilitation and embarking on that journey,” the judge said.

“You are starting to walk the talk.”

Sua opposed the forfeiture of the seized cash, saying he got some of it from selling a motorcycle.

“You accepted that you bought and sold drugs … It was a cash business,” Judge Matenga said.

“That required working capital. That was the reason you had the money in the bumbags, not because you bought and sold vehicles.”

He ordered the money be forfeited to the Crown.