Ralph Vuletic jailed for Auckland Airport, Ports of Auckland meth import schemes

A former Ferrari-driving Auckland property hotshot who 20 years ago was considered the industry’s youngest “mover and shaker” picked up a methamphetamine habit after a series of life setbacks that included the failures of his business and marriage and convictions for fraud. That addiction prompted another potentially lucrative, albeit illicit, career change: drug smuggling.

Glen Eden resident Ralph Anthony Vuletic, 42, appeared for sentencing in the High Court at Auckland last week after admitting to being the “right-hand man” in two major methamphetamine importation syndicates. One is alleged to have involved the corruption of Auckland Airport baggage handlers. The other involved secreting the drug amid frozen vegetables in a container ship from Tonga.

During his previous High Court sentencing in 2012 for business-related fraud, Vuletic received a sentence of home detention. This time, Justice Andrew Becroft ordered 10 years’ imprisonment, accompanied by a stipulation he serve at least four years behind bars before he is eligible to begin applying for parole.

“Mr Vuletic, you are no fool,” the judge told him, according to sentencing notes released to the Herald this week. “You are an intelligent man. You are one who clearly engenders trust in others. You have become a leader in your drug rehabilitation programme.

“You knew exactly what you were doing in this offending. There was potential for significant financial gain, I cannot help but observe, when you most needed it.”

Vuletic was arrested in August 2021 as law enforcement wrapped up undercover operations Selena and Schrute, described by Justice Becroft as “separate but sophisticated methamphetamine importation and distribution syndicates” that had been under surveillance by both police and Customs.

A month before the arrest, about 10kg of methamphetamine had arrived on a flight from Los Angeles. Vuletic was spotted retrieving at least 2kg of the drug from a co-defendant’s home later that night.

Court documents allege the organisation relied on airport ground staff in Kuala Lumpur and the United States to place marked suitcases on planes, which were then diverted by Auckland-based baggage handlers before the illegal payload could be screened by Customs.

Former Auckland property developer Ralph Vuletic, who was sentenced last week for methamphetamine smuggling, also appeared for sentencing in the High Court at Auckland in 2012 after he was charged with fraud. Photo / Sarah Ivey

While not in charge of the commercial-scale operation, Vuletic was close to the patched gang member alleged to have been the leader. In intercepted communications, the gang member described Vuletic as his “right hand” man who had “been with [him] from day one”, according to the agreed summary of facts that accompanied Vuletic’s guilty pleas.

While investigating the airport operation, authorities discovered another syndicate allegedly comprised of businessmen and gang associates, resulting in Operation Schrute.

On July 30, 2021, a 20-foot frozen produce container arrived at Ports of Auckland that was listed as containing 477 bags of cassava, swamp taro and kava powder. Not listed but included in the shipment were two padlocked black duffel bags containing 29.7kg of methamphetamine that had been stuffed into Ziplock bags and wrapped in white electrical tape, court documents state.

The methamphetamine was intercepted and replaced with a placebo, then released from the port a week later for a “controlled delivery”. Vuletic was observed taking the drugs to a storage unit he hired in Swanson, West Auckland. A police search of the unit would later reveal 5kg of the drug in Chinese gold tea packaging. Another 1kg, along with packaging supplies and an unloaded pistol, was uncovered during a search of his home.

By that point, Vuletic had long since swapped his Ferrari for a more sensible Volkswagen Golf, but court records suggest he retained some of his flashiness. The confiscated items also included a $20,000 Rolex watch and $30,000 in cash.

For Operation Selena, he pleaded guilty in September to one count of possession of methamphetamine for supply and one count of supply of methamphetamine, similar but distinct charges that both carry maximum sentences of life imprisonment. For Operation Schrute, he pleaded guilty to importation of methamphetamine, possession of meth for supply and unlawful possession of a pistol.

During his sentencing, Justice Becroft noted the defendant’s “calculated decisions” merited a “severe sentence”. He determined a starting point of 20 years.

“You will know from your own experience that methamphetamine is a highly corrosive, destructive, and pernicious drug that can and does ruin lives,” he said. “Those in the grip of methamphetamine addiction, as it appears you know only too well yourself, are in a downward spiral that, frankly, wrecks if not destroys their lives and, indirectly, those of others.”

But the judge also noted the defendant’s troubled upbringing, his willingness to take responsibility for his crimes, his recent efforts to kick his addiction and his remorse - factors that combined to reduce his end sentence to half of what the starting point was.

“As soon as you knew the police were ‘onto’ your syndicate and were attempting to locate you, news of which you received from your estranged wife, you voluntarily presented at Waitākere Police Station and made a full confession,” the judge noted, emphasising that he exposed only himself - not his co-defendants. “You did not mention any others involved and you confessed only to what you had done. It almost seemed to be something of a relief that you could get this off your chest.”

During Operation Schrute, two black duffel bags containing 29.7kg of methamphetamine - stuffed into Ziplock bags and wrapped in electrical tape - were found in a produce shipment from Tonga. Photo / NZ Police

The judge also noted Vuletic’s apology letter and what the Crown accepted as “exceptional remorse”.

He said Vuletic began using - then selling - cannabis as a young teenager before developing a 2-3g per day meth habit. He sought help in his early 20s and was able to abstain for a time, during which he established a finance company that initially flourished.

“Then, after a serious hand injury in 2016 with subsequent failed surgeries and ongoing pain, a marriage that ended, and drained of finances and savings, you slipped back into the downwards spiral of methamphetamine use,” the judge said.

“... All the evidence I have suggests at various times you were an addict,“ he added. “But this was offending significantly, if not massively, above what was required to feed your habit. Even at three grams a day and even with the six kilograms of methamphetamine in your possession, that would have lasted you for at least, at a minimum, six years.”

During Operation Schrute, authorities reported finding nearly 30kg of methamphetamine in a 20-foot shipping container from Tonga that arrived at Ports of Auckland in July 2021. The drugs were hidden among frozen produce, investigators said. Photo / NZ Police

The judge also noted his 2012 sentencing in passing “to emphasise the failure in your business activities”.

The Serious Fraud Office, which prosecuted the previous case, described him that year as “a budding property developer” who got his start in the business because of valuable sections of land owned by his family in Auckland.

He pleaded guilty to using a document to defraud, attempting to pervert the course of justice and forging a document - the result, authorities said, of an elaborate scheme hatched in 2003 alongside fellow businessman Marcus Friedlander to avoid bankruptcy and dodge $10 million worth of bills from creditors for Friedlander’s faltering property development and insurance brokering companies.

Vuletic had sent false documents to the High Court, forging a series of letters and a sale and purchase agreement to give the impression that his friend was owed $19m. His then-lawyer noted that he was in his early 20s at the time, compared to his older and more experienced co-defendant. Prosecutors dismissed it as the plea of “a poor little rich boy”.

At just 22, Vuletic had been hyped as the property industry’s youngest “mover and shaker”, employing a full-time bodyguard, travelling in his high-end convertible Ferrari and boasting of owning a gun favoured by James Bond, the National Business Review reported at the time.

“Cars speak plainly about success,” Vuletic had explained. “People seem to be more impressed by what you drive than what you save.”

Many co-defendants in both of the alleged drug import operations have pleaded not guilty and await trial.

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.