Drug ring charges against man dropped
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A judge has thrown out charges against a man accused of helping inmates run a large drug ring from the maximum-security wing of Auckland’s Paremoremo prison.
During a depositions hearing in the North Shore District Court last week, Judge David McNaughton dismissed methamphetamine and LSD charges against Bruce Leigh Andrews, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The operation involved smuggling cold tables containing pseudoephedrine from China inside toothpaste, chocolates and cakes to be turned into P at the homes of associates.
Andrews was accused of organising cellphones, collecting payments and passing on orders from senior members of the syndicate.
All but three of those facing methamphetamine charges have been committed for trial.
The 16 defendants have denied the charges over the alleged multi-million-dollar drug ring.
Judge McNaughton will decide next week whether the three will stand trial.
Inmates Arthur William Taylor and Ernest Tofaeono, and Tai Bong Rhee who is accused of organising the pseudoephedrine supply from China, have not conceded a prima facie case, the newspaper reported.