Jason Roderick McGrath was sentenced in the High Court at Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker
Jason Roderick McGrath was sentenced in the High Court at Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker
A West Auckland man who stockpiled a huge cache of weapons, $2 million worth of methampetamine and a cash haul of $2.7 million has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars.
Details of the case can now be revealed by the Herald following the expiration of a High Court suppression order.
On January 19, police searched the home of Jason Roderick McGrath.
They found what Justice Christian Whata would later call an "excessively large arsenal of weapons".
Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney also remarked, at McGrath's sentencing earlier this year, that she had never seen anything like it before. Even the defence agreed it was an "unusual" case.
"Inside a room at that address the police found methamphetamine, three semi-automatic assault rifles, a fourth disassembled assault rifle, 374 rounds of ammunition and a silencer," Justice Whata explained.
The serial numbers on each of the four assault rifles had been ground off. Photo / NZ Police
A large number of rounds were loaded in banana or drum-type magazines which could allow the firearms to shoot 60 rounds before being reloaded, the court heard.
The serial numbers on each of the four assault rifles had been ground off.
Police also found about 2kg of meth, with a street value of about $2 million, as well as $2.7 million of cash spread across the property.
"You told the police that you were responsible for the drugs and firearms and that your family had nothing to do with it," Justice Whata said.
The Crown contended McGrath was a self-confessed supplier to two purchasers and must be considered an "essential link" in a profitable supply chain, Justice Whata said.
The defence, however, argued McGrath had no involvement in a criminal organisation beyond the supply to those purchasers and noted that they have been imprisoned.
Cash and methamphetamine found at the Auckland home of Jason Roderick McGrath earlier this year. Photo / NZ Police
McGrath, who had entered an early guilty plea to possession of meth for supply, three charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and one charge of unlawful possession of ammunition, was sentenced to a concurrent term of imprisonment of 10 years' and one month.
At the time of the weapons and drugs seizure, Detective Senior Sergeant Roger Small said the meth would've had a devastating impact on the community if it had made its way to users.
"It causes a huge amount of harm to the users' loved ones, as well as being a driver of numerous other crimes in our communities as a result of users trying to fund their habits."
Obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety had contributed to McGrath's offending and hoarding behaviour, the court heard.
But Justice Whata said: "While your OCD and anxiety appears to have contributed to the intensity and longevity of your offending, it is not the sole cause."
McGrath has only one other relevant conviction for cannabis cultivation in 2008.
