A former Waikato Mongrel Mob vice-president has been jailed for nine years for making methamphetamine.
Dwight Fatu, 34, of Hamilton, was sentenced in the High Court at Hamilton yesterday on eight charges, including two each of manufacturing and supplying methamphetamine, conspiracy to manufacture and supply the drug, wilful neglect of childrenand receiving stolen property.
Fatu must serve five years before he is eligible for parole.
The charges follow three searches last year of Fatu's home, during which police seized equipment and chemicals to manufacture the drug, $7920 cash, and stolen property, including a television set and two laptop computers.
Justice Alan MacKenzie rejected a suggestion by Fatu's lawyer, Sean Ellis, that it was a minor operation.
"The scale of manufacturing was high and the commercial element was significant," he said.
Among the aggravating factors, Justice MacKenzie noted that the offending took place over seven months, partly while Fatu was on bail. He also manufactured the drug while his two young children were present.
Fatu's gang involvement was another aggravating factor.
Mr Ellis said Fatu had expressed his remorse in a letter to the judge and pleaded guilty once police withdrew charges against his wife.