Sydney hitman caught on tape

By SCOTT MacLEOD

A cold-blooded gunman who fired eight shots at a New Zealander was caught on video camera in a case likened by Sydney detectives to a movie script.

The plot thickened yesterday when senior police downplayed their own officers' suspicion that a Colombian drug lord and Chilean femme fatale sparked the shooting last October 8.

This came just hours after Sydney's Daily Telegraph ran images showing a man walking calmly along Liverpool St, Haymarket, with a pistol in his right hand and body armour under his T-shirt.

He was caught on a security camera three minutes after shots were fired through a window at JB's Bar and Grill.

Three of the bullets hit and almost killed Wellington-born security guard Raniera Puketapu, 27, who has since fled Australia for a secret hideaway.

Senior officers have repeatedly told the Herald that the shooting was one of the most organised in Australian history, with the hitman spending at least $10,000 on firearms, police scanners, a van and cellphone gear.

A report written by inquiry head Detective Senior Constable Steve Pollard suggested Mr Puketapu was shot over his friendship with a Chilean woman he had been phoning and text-messaging.

It was possible the woman was the cocaine-smuggling girlfriend of a Colombian drug lord with New Zealand gang connections who was angry at the relationship.

The report said the Colombian, who was trying to smuggle drugs to New Zealand and Sydney, might have been in the bar at the time of the shooting with a contractor who brokered the hit. Police believed the pair watched the shooting, then exchanged cash.

Mr Pollard told the Telegraph the plot had grown "extraordinary" and was like a movie script.

But in a remarkable turnaround, Sydney Detective Chief Inspector Brett Cooper said yesterday that there was no evidence of a contract shooting or that the drug lord was involved.

He later told the Herald it was one of many possible scenarios. Mr Puketapu could have been shot over a love triangle or business deal gone wrong.

"There's no evidence at all to suggest a Colombian drug lord."

When asked why the shooting was so well-organised, Mr Cooper said scanners were common and the $10,000 figure was only an estimate.

The inquiry, which had been suspended due to witnesses' reluctance to talk, was reopened yesterday.

Mr Cooper said the new probe had nothing to do with the Telegraph article, but with fresh information.

Mr Pollard refused to speak to media yesterday. The Herald was told he had been severely reprimanded for his role in the Telegraph story, but Mr Cooper said he was not in trouble.

According to Mr Pollard, Mr Puketapu had been drinking with his father, Teri, about 9pm when the gunman opened fire with two pistols.

The hitman walked away yelling "Police, everybody down".

He placed the pistols, gloves, scanner and other gear in a van, which he set ablaze, then wandered calmly down Liverpool St with a third pistol.

Police believed they had identified the Sydney-based hitman, who has extensive drug connections, but had too little evidence to lay charges.

The Colombian had arrived in Australia on a student visa two years ago, the report said.

Mr Puketapu is a member of a prominent Maori family. He has had little or no contact with friends in Australia since the shooting.

His uncle, Alliance Party candidate Vern Winitana, said Mr Puketapu was recovering well and was working hard on his fitness.

"Nobody" in the family had direct contact with him, and it had been three months since Mr Winitana had seen Mr Puketapu.

An unnamed friend who worked with Mr Puketapu at a bottle-store in Sydney described him as a quiet man who kept his private life to himself.

"It's been very hush," the friend said of events since the shooting.

"A lot of us here are really surprised, but I've heard nothing from him. Whatever happened, that's between him and that other person."

Police have had trouble cracking the case because Mr Puketapu has been reluctant to speak and other key witnesses have fled Australia.

The Chilean woman left just 12 hours after the shooting.

A New Zealand police spokesman said officers here had not been involved in the case recently.

What happened

* Wellington-born security guard Raniera Puketapu nearly killed by three shots in a bar in Sydney's Chinatown last October 8.

* He has since fled to a secret hideaway.

* Details of the would-be assassin's possible motives emerged yesterday.

* Police say Mr Puketapu could have been shot because of a love triangle or a sour business deal.