Mobster who wanted to give up criminal life jailed for meth dealing

Shayne Teddy's latest convictions means he's now accumulated more than 100 convictions stretching back to 1983. Photo NZME

A 55-year-old Mongrel Mob member who said five years ago that he wanted to quit his criminal lifestyle was back in court on Tuesday to receive a further jail sentence for methamphetamine dealing on a "significant" scale.

The latest offending means that Shayne Johanes Teddy has now accumulated more than 100 convictions stretching back to 1983.

Teddy appeared before Judge Bridget Mackintosh in the Napier District Court on Tuesday after admitting possession of methamphetamine for supply, supplying methamphetamine, possession of cannabis plants for supply and receiving property over $1000.

She jailed Teddy for four years on the methamphetamine charges and three years on the cannabis charge, to be served concurrently.

Teddy appeared in the same court in late 2016, and was jailed then for four years for offering to supply methamphetamine and three years for possession of a firearm, assault with a weapon and attempting to pervert the course of justice, also to be served concurrently.

At that time, Judge Geoff Rea said that Teddy, then aged 50, had written him a letter saying that it was time to "call this sort of a lifestyle quits".

The previous year, Teddy had been the subject of an hours-long operation and manhunt by armed police after a firearms-related domestic incident in Hislop Ave, Napier.

Instead of quitting his lifestyle after serving his prison sentence, Teddy returned to prospecting for the Mongrel Mob and meth dealing on what Judge Mackintosh said was a "significant" scale.

He was in possession of 230g of methamphetamine and 213g of cannabis when police arrested him in 2020. His texts and messages with a supplier in Rotorua recorded a number of orders.

Judge Mackintosh said Teddy had a long-standing criminal history with 98 convictions over the period from 1983 to 2016.

Twenty of those convictions were drugs-related and Judge Mackintosh said Teddy had a long-standing addiction to methamphetamine; one which had been an "ongoing issue for the last 20 years".

Judge Mackintosh said Teddy was considered to be at high risk of reoffending unless he addressed his addiction issues.

She said Teddy had been embroiled in the gang world and at the time of his offending had been prospecting for members in the hope of formally affiliating with a particular Mongrel Mob faction.

"I've seen a lot of you over the years I have been in Hawke's Bay," Judge Mackintosh told Teddy.

"It would be good for all of us if those appearances weren't so frequent."