A man in court for sentencing on a drugs charge was told yesterday his serious health problems would not keep him out of prison.
Reuben Panaho, 43, was jailed for 2 1/2 years when he appeared in the Auckland District Court on a charge of conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine.
He appeared for
sentencing with Lindsay Shane Christiansen, who had been found guilty of conspiring to supply and supplying methamphetamine. He was jailed for three years.
Judge Graeme Hubble told both men that prison was inevitable and methamphetamine offences were some of the most serious in the community.
A police operation found Panaho had supplied 100 boxes of pre-cursor tablets and the judge said Panaho knew an immediate "cook-up" could produce up to $80,000 worth of methamphetamine.
He said Panaho's 58 previous convictions were mostly for nuisance offences but he remitted $6100 in outstanding fines, saying he had factored that into the sentence.
However, he said that while Panaho was in poor health, it would not keep him out of prison. He was likely to get better healthcare in jail than outside.
His co-offender, Christiansen, also continued to deny his offending. He lived modestly, looked after his elderly mother and was well-recognised in the sport of boxing, said Judge Hubble.
The offences involved no dealing on a substantial scale, but Christiansen's criminal record included some "moderately serious" drug offending.
He was extremely well-regarded by his employer as affable, honest and good with people, said the judge.
Christiansen's jail term also took into account the remission of outstanding fines.
- NZPA
