Victim offers $50,000 bounty for fugitive pair

Simone Anne Wright and Paul James Bennett are on the run and could be in the Whangarei area. Photo / ODT

A fugitive couple on the run from police sold their getaway vehicle in Dunedin, the man offering a $50,000 bounty for their capture says.

Police in Christchurch issued a warrant to arrest for Paul James Bennett and Simone Ann Wright in July last year.

Detective Sergeant Craig Farrant, of the Christchurch CIB, confirmed the pair were wanted on an active charge of a ''sexual nature'' from the Auckland area.

The pair also had a history of fraud offending - selling Rolex watches to identify people of wealth, and ''are obviously very good at it''.

''They have offended for a number of years in a big way and we would love to get our mitts on them,'' he said.

The couple's history suggested they could enter and re-enter the country under different names.

While on the run, the couple were in Dunedin, and sold a rare silver 2003 BMW M3 to a Dunedin car dealer ''very cheaply'', millionaire businessman and director of HeliPower Mike Jacomb, from Picton, said. ''[Bennett] took the money and ran.''

Mr Jacomb, who says he was ripped off by Mr Bennett to the tune of $250,000, is offering a $50,000 bounty for information leading to the couple's arrest.

''He is a serious thief and criminal. We know of at least $2 million in fraud he has done,'' Mr Jacomb said.

The pair had connections to the Otago area. Several years ago, they lived in Wanaka and were involved in a pornographic website, Mr Jacomb alleged.

In Auckland, six months ago, the couple bought a 2004 Subaru Forrester using the alias Sarah Shaw, of a Dunedin hostel address which did not exist.

The couple ''raised their heads'' every couple of months, and information suggested they might be in the Whangarei area to source a vessel to flee the country.

''We know he is desperate to get out of the country,'' Mr Jacomb said of Bennett, who was a competent sailor and a known holder of a valid Australian passport.

Bennett's chequered history included being a former helicopter pilot of Hollywood A-lister Russell Crowe. It was later discovered Bennett did not hold a valid licence.

Photos of the couple were now a year old and both were known to wear sunglasses day and night.

Bennett walked with a limp and was now in poor health, while Wright was ''high maintenance'' and often visited hairdressers, Mr Jacomb said. She was believed to now have red hair.

Mr Jacomb, who said he had bounty hunters looking for the couple on both sides of the Tasman, had a warning for the couple: ''My tolerance level for scumbags is zero and I am not going away.''

Anyone with information was urged to contact police, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Paul James Bennett

•Male Caucasian.
•Aged 51.
•169cm.
• Solid build.

Aliases include: Paul Maybury, David Kite, Dennis Kite, Paul Lochead, David Hanson, Paul John Williams, Peter James Nicol, Paul Lewis Louis Bennett.

Simone Ann Wright

•Female Caucasian.
•Aged 37.
•Shorter than 169cm.
•Thin build.

Aliases include: Sarah Kite, Karen Kite, Sarah Webster, Simone Thalia Williams, Simone Bennett, Sarah Shaw.