MDMA in a juice bottle and Brazilian cocaine: drug syndicate’s second last holdout pleads guilty in Auckland

Among the last defendants charged as part of a major police investigation into a sprawling drug syndicate has pleaded guilty to 10 serious drugs charges and faces a lengthy term in prison.

Maximiliano Javier Luna was the second to last remaining holdout who had either not pleaded out or been found guilty by a jury for his involvement in the international drug cartel.

It was led by Xavier Valent, aka Harry Whitehead, the former Auckland Grammar boy turned international drug lord.

The last holdout, a man accused of serving as a methamphetamine cook with the syndicate, will stand trial in the Auckland District Court later this year.

Luna was one of a number of people arrested in 2020 during Operation Mystic, targeting what prosecutors called an “extremely large-scale drug importing and distribution syndicate”.

Valent was arrested at the Italian border on an Interpol warrant and later extradited to New Zealand. He was found guilty of most drug charges after a marathon trial this year and sentenced earlier this month to life in prison.

Police seized more than a tonne of methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine and ephedrine worth some $5 million that was smuggled into New Zealand over three years.

Luna appeared in the dock on Friday morning before Justice Neil Campbell after spending the years since his arrest on bail.

Maximiliano Javier Luna appears in the Auckland High Court where he entered guilty pleas to 10 serious drugs charges. His lawyer Matt Goodwin is also pictured - he managed to keep his client out on bail ahead of sentencing. Photo / George Block

His wife and other supporters including a church pastor packed into the public gallery of the small courtroom at the Auckland High Court to hear him plead guilty to 10 charges covering the importation, possession or supply of methamphetamine, cocaine, meth-precursor chemical ephedrine and LSD.

Among the charges he admitted were the processing for supply of 4kg of cocaine which had been imported from Brazil and the supply of MDMA hidden in a Keri juice bottle.

On most charges, Valent, the syndicate’s boss, was named as a co-offender along with other minions in the syndicate.

Luna was brought into the syndicate by Valent’s primary storeman, court documents show.

Xavier Valent, also known as Harry Whitehead, travelled the world while running an international drug syndicate before being caught in Operation Mystic. Photo / Supplied

The storeman was forming his own distribution team within the syndicate and wanted Luna, a close associate, to be part of his team. He was brought into the fold around September 2018.

Initially, he acted as a receiver or “catcher” of imported drug consignments smuggled through the post.

By 2019 he was the primary drug runner in the storeman’s team.

The storeman bought him a red Audi to use for his drug running and paid him between $2000 and $5000 a week in cash.

Luna pleaded to 10 charges in all: importing MDMA, conspiracy to possess ephedrine, possession for supply of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, ephedrine and LSD, and supplying meth, MDMA and ephedrine.

Several of the charges carry a maximum possible term of life imprisonment.

Through the investigation, an undercover police surveillance team saw Luna repeatedly meeting with members of the syndicate, including several drug deals.

“Mr Luna was handling grams, ounces and kilograms of methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA in addition to substantial amounts of ephedrine,” court documents said.

“While Mr Luna’s role never progressed from ‘runner’, he had an appreciation of how the syndicate worked and demonstrated ambition to progress into another, more significant role within the syndicate.”

Intercepted communications showed Luna and the storeman discussing a daily order for delivery that included a kilogram of meth in a tea package and MDMA in a Keri juice bottle.

Between December and February 2020, Luna and the storeman processed 4kg of cocaine imported from Brazil.

Valent had arranged for a passenger to smuggle the cocaine on board a flight from Brazil and had paid for the mule’s tickets.

Luna collected the cocaine and brought it back for the storeman.

“The cocaine was pressed into panels in the hard sections of a suitcase and taped with dark blue sticky tape.”

Luna will be sentenced on August 15 at 9am where it is expected the Crown will seek a lengthy term of imprisonment in the order of 16 years.

His lawyer Matthew Goodwin successfully sought bail to continue until a formal bail hearing in the coming weeks ahead of sentence.