Three jailed over Northland bach meth bust have sentences reduced on appeal

ESR staff investigate a methamphetamine lab at a property in Dolphin Place, Tutukaka in July 2016. The three men who were jailed have now had their sentences reduced.

Three men convicted after 1kg of methamphetamine was manufactured at a Northland bach have had their jail terms cut on appeal.

In August 2018, four people convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine in a rented Northland bach were jailed for a combined total of nearly 35 years.

Kimberley Gibbons-Hurinui, then 32, Jeffery Hall, then 35, and Tama Watene-Toi, then 52, appeared for sentencing in Whangārei District Court after they were found guilty by a jury.

Each was charged with manufacturing meth, possession of equipment with an intention of manufacturing meth, possession of meth for supply, unlawful possession of a restricted weapon, unlawful possession of a pistol, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of an explosive.

The meth lab in Dolphin Place, on the Tutukaka Coast, was busted on July 10, 2016 after a property manager became suspicious and called police.

All three were found guilty of manufacturing meth, while Watene-Toi was also found guilty of possession of equipment with an intention of manufacturing meth.

Guilty verdicts were also returned for Hall on charges of possession of equipment, possession of a shotgun and possession of ammunition. The jury found them not guilty of the remaining charges.

A fourth person, Julian Roberts, 44, pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing a firearm and single charges of possession of equipment, manufacturing meth and possession for supply of meth.

Judge Keith de Ridder sentenced Roberts to 10-and-a-half years in prison, Watene got 12-and-a-half years, Hall 10 years, and Gibbons-Hurinui 22 months, with leave to apply for home detention.

The three men appealed their jail terms and, in a recent decision, the court has allowed the appeals, quashed their original sentences and replaced them with lower jail terms.

Roberts had his sentence reduced to eight years, 10 months' imprisonment; Watene-Toi to nine years, and Hall to eight years and six months.

On July 6, 2016, Hall called a letting agency to inquire about renting the bach and was told to book online and pay by credit card. A booking was made and $2600 paid for nine nights.

Three days later, a female employee of the letting agency went to the bach and felt things seemed out of place. Windows were covered with blankets and bed sheets that didn't belong to the bach.

She heard a sound similar to that of a pressure cooker going off and noticed an odd smell. She left the property and called police.

Police found 332g of meth and 1.2 litres in liquid form in two containers and in 11 bags, with a total yield of nearly 1kg of meth.