Former Air New Zealandemployee Sese Vimahi was known in the criminal underground as “Preacher” — a reference to him being a “kurupt Churchie man [sic]”, as one co-defendant put it in a message later discovered by police. He was also known as the “Tongan Pablo”, a reference to infamous South American drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Last February, Vimahi wiped away tears as he was sentenced in Manukau District Court to 14 years and seven months in prison for an $8 million importation plot in which he recruited corrupt baggage handlers to divert illegal shipments before they could be screened by Customs. He was described as the “architect” of the May 2020 scheme — a respected member of the community with no prior record who used his seniority and “mana” to recruit the younger co-conspirators.
This week he appeared in Auckland District Court, where Judge Belinda Sellars outlined how he continued to use his influence to import more drugs less than a year later — even though he had been fired after his first arrest and was awaiting trial on bail.
“You were seen as an uncle figure and a leader, and you exploited that,” she told him as he appeared via audio-video feed.
Viewed in a vacuum, the second import scheme would attract a starting point of 19 years imprisonment, Judge Sellars determined.
Sese Vimahi, a former Auckland Airport employee who oversaw a group of corrupt baggage handlers who helped smuggle methamphetamine into New Zealand, appears via audio-video feed at Auckland District Court for sentencing. Photo / Dean Purcell
But because the sentence would be stacked on top of the prison term he’s already serving — as opposed to serving them concurrently — the judge explained she needed to consider what the sentence would have been had he been sentenced for both at the same time.
She ordered a sentence of two years and five months, resulting in a new combined sentence of 17 years and three months.
Vimahi’s first scheme unravelled after musician Romney Fuki Fukofuka, a mule with an American passport otherwise known by the stage name Konecs, panicked on a flight from Los Angeles to Auckland and brought a bag with 19.4kg of methamphetamine as a carry-on instead of letting it be placed in the cargo hold of the plane as has been planned.
Fukofuka was sentenced in 2023 to seven years and three months' imprisonment.
Konecs, aka Romney Fukofuka, was an aspiring musician who released a number of music videos online. Image / Youtube
Nearly a year after the first tranche of arrests as part of Operation Santana, police and Customs launched a second major investigation dubbed Operation Selena. It focused on two separate drug syndicates using Auckland Airport baggage handlers to offload drugs.
The kingpin of the other syndicate, King Cobras member Nigel Iuvale, was sentenced in November to 18 years imprisonment following a High Court trial.
Vimahi’s syndicate, meanwhile, is alleged to have overseen a different stable of corrupt baggage handlers.
Authorities determined that Vimahi’s syndicate was spearheaded by once-promising rugby league player Aisake Feleti, who was sentenced in July to 14 years and 9 months in prison. He was responsible for sourcing the drugs from his contacts in the United States.
While not the leader, Vimahi’s involvement was also crucial, according to the agreed summary of facts for the case.
Methamphetame trafficking syndicate leader Nigel Iuvale appears in the High Court at Auckland at the start of the Operation Selena jury trial. He is accused of having co-ordinated the illegal smuggling of hundreds of kilograms of the drug with the help of Auckland Airport baggage handlers. Photo / Jason Oxenham
He used his longstanding connections at the airport to recruit a new criminal baggage crew even though he no longer worked there. As a result, the syndicate successfully imported two illicit shipments, consisting of 10kg of meth each, in February and March 2021.
Authorities cracked the case due to a major blunder on Feleti’s part. He discussed his import plans freely on an encrypted messaging app that should have been inaccessible to police even with a surveillance warrant. But when they later seized his phone, it was quickly realised that he hadn’t bothered to delete months' worth of conversations.
Many of the discussions were with another drug smuggling associate who used the handle “Wiseman”.
“On 21 February 2021, Feleti informs ‘Wiseman’ that he will sell the pending imported methamphetamine for between $175,000 to $180,000 [a kilogram] cash on delivery,” court documents outline. “He further advises that Vimahi went and met with the airport crew and that they said they would take 2kg of methamphetamine out of the bag as their fee for assisting with the importation.
“Feleti then advised ‘Wiseman’ that Vimahi is a blood cousin and that he trusts him as he is not a gangster but is a ‘kurupt Churchie man’.”
This photo of 10kg of methamphetamine and the backpack it would be hidden in was forwarded to former Air New Zealand employee Sese Vimahi ahead of the illicit haul arriving on a flight from Los Angeles in 2021.
In another set of messages with a different underworld associate, Feleti discussed plans for importing methamphetamine to New Zealand through the mail with Vimahi’s help.
“[The associate] stated he spoke with Vimahi who advised him that he has associates working at FedEx who could facilitate the importation of the methamphetamine,” court documents state. “He also stated that 2kg of methamphetamine would be sent at a time.”
‘Incalculable harm’
Vimahi pleaded guilty to the second tranche of charges nearly a year ago. Several sentencing hearings since then have been reset.
He faced up to life imprisonment for one representative count of importing methamphetamine and up to 14 years for two counts of conspiracy to import methamphetamine.
Defence lawyer John Munro sought a 15% discount for his client’s guilty pleas along with 10% discount for prior good character. He presented letters of support outlining the ways Vimahi had previously helped the community, including as a youth mentor.
The judge, however, was dubious of the good character request. She noted that he had personally sentenced young men who had been recruited by Vimahi into the scheme.
“I’ve got a concern that helping youths gets cancelled out when recruiting slightly-older-than-youths,” she explained. “The fact of the matter is he re-offended while on bail. He comes before me without good character.”
Munro argued that both sets of offending were essentially part of the same scheme, so Vimahi should be judged for his character before both of them.
“Ultimately, we still have a man who has given a significant amount to the community,” he said.
The judge ultimately allowed a 20% total discount for his guilty pleas and prospects of rehabilitation but then increased the sentence for having offended while on bail.
She rejected a separate defence argument that the law restricted her from imposing a minimum term of imprisonment for the combined Manukau and Auckland District Court sentences.
During last year’s sentencing, Crown prosecutor Anna Devathasan asked Judge Janey Forrest to impose a minimum non-parole period of 40% as a deterrence to others in positions of trust who might be enticed by plots that “compromise the integrity of the border”. The judge ultimately declined, noting that as a matter of law Vimahi would already have to serve at least one-third of the sentence before he could apply for parole, and that most prisoners fail to persuade the Parole Board at their first appearance.
Crown prosecutor Taniela-Afu Veikune echoed the request at this week’s hearing, this time seeking 45%.
But imposing a minimum non-parole period on a combined sentence, the defence argued, would be akin to overruling the Manukau judge.
Judge Sellars disagreed, noting that her task was to come up with a stacked sentence that would reflect what Vimahi might have received had both schemes been addressed at the same hearing.
The first judge wouldn’t have been allowed to consider offending while on bail because he hadn’t yet pleaded guilty, she said.
A minimum term of imprisonment would denounce his conduct, deter him and others from committing similar offending and protect the community, Judge Sellars said.
“The harm done by methamphetamine is incalculable,” she said, ordering a 40% minimum term.
That means Vimahi will have to serve at least six years and 10 months in prison before he can begin to apply for parole.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
