Senior officers probing corruption charges against Taito Phillip Field have been accused of being blinkered in their investigation of the Mangere MP.
Field's lawyer, Paul Davison, QC, yesterday asked inquiry head Detective Superintendent Malcolm Burgess why he had not followed up information claiming two Thai women were accepting
money to put Thai overstayers in touch with Field.
Mr Burgess was instructed in late August, 2006, by then-Assistant Commissioner Peter Marshall to begin investigating Field, after an independent inquiry by Noel Ingram, QC.
It is alleged Field allowed several Thai nationals, whom he was helping with immigration issues, to work on his properties for little pay - save the cost of materials - between November 2002 and October 2005.
Depositions are being heard in the Manukau District Court.
Mr Davison questioned Mr Burgess about the content of an affidavit by Asian Crime Squad officer Malcolm Spence, used to support an October, 2006, application for a warrant to search Field properties in Mangere and Wellington.
Mr Spence's affidavit included information obtained from informants that a Thai woman - known by the nickname "Penn" - had been seeking out illegal Thai immigrants, then taking them to Field for assistance.
Informants also claimed Penn had been soliciting money from immigrants to arrange the meetings.
A second Thai woman - Jinda Thaivichit - had also been identified as being involved in helping lto "funnel" Thai immigrants toward Field.
But Mr Burgess said he had decided not to investigate the allegations as he considered them "irrelevant" to the Field inquiry.
"The investigation was sufficient to meet the needs of my enquiry ... to determine interaction between Mr Field and various Thai people."
Mr Burgess said Ms Thaivichit had been interviewed by the police, and denied the allegations. There was no evidence she had been paid.
The women's activities were considered "a peripheral issue", he said.
However, Mr Davison said the decision not to investigate the women had left him "worried if police have had their blinkers on or not".
The hearing - which will decide whether Field stands trial - is likely to finish today.
