The Australian underworld was left shocked by the high-profile switch, which one source told News.com.au shows that the Comacheros do "what they want, when they want". Comanchero Motorcycle Gang members have been arrested in Auckland. Money was deposited at banks in amounts less than $10,000, in a bid to avoid triggering the banks reporting threshold, then funnelled through trust and company accounts to disguise their criminal origins. Vetekina Naufahu admitted to money laundering and possessing ecstasy, and is the latest Comanchero member to be sentenced after massive police raids in 2019. more information Accept. Intercepted communications from September 20, 2018, from an audio device fitted in a vehicle were played to the jury on Thursday. Hakaraia offered cover as a professional service provider and businessman by reviewing the accounts of the concrete business, Johnstone said. Intercepted communications between a man and an Australian hairdresser who allegedly orchestrated a $1 million drug deal of pseudoephedrine for the Comanchero MC president have been played in court. He said he is paid $2200 a week before tax - the equivalent of $114,000 a year - by a company which was run by another defendant, who has name suppression. Biker News does not belong to or support any Club. "I know you're up there in the forever chapter, sinking them down at the bar, flying that flag with 13 stars. We respect every Motorcycle Club that adheres to proper MC protocol. Im going to land it between you and me [Ill give you] all the f***en work you can handle. In 2018, as part of Operation Nova, police detectives from the National Organised Crime Group covertly filmed a drug deal involving the Comancheros motorcycle gang. The trial against Naufahu, Connor Michael Tamati Clausen, accountant Wiwini Himi Hakaraia, a media personality who has name suppression, and a woman, also with name suppression, began on Monday at the High Court at Auckland. Speaking to other mourners at Gino Vella's January funeral, he proudly wore the Rebels patch - the mark of a gang that his father "paved the way" for - and declared "Rebels Forever, Forever Rebels.". We do not accept Mr Naufahu played anything other than a major and significant role in the conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine.. The trial of five people linked to the Comancheros gang has been told how close a large drug deal came to being completed in the Auckland suburb of Takanini. Seiana Fakaosilea, the gang's sergeant-at-arms, was not arrested in Operation Nova. These include electronic monitoring with a curfew between 10pm-6am, not to use drugs, not to communicate or associate with co-offenders, or anyone connected to the Comancheros. The five were arrestedfollowing a series of raidsacross Auckland in April 2019 which saw more than $3.7 million in assets seized along withluxury cars, motorcycles, luxury luggageand jewellery. The late admissions come shortly before the pair were due to stand trial at the High Court in September, along with other members of the gang and their associates on charges laid in April 2019 following Operation Nova. more information Accept. Available from December 2. Two days before Christmas, December 23, 2018, Rahman left New Zealand but not before receiving a backpack full of cash. Video / NZ Herald. However, the Court substituted the gang boss 10 year imprisonment to one of nine years. But the Court of Appeal has reduced that sentence to nine years. Jul 2019. Rahman was unknown to the team of detectives running Operation Nova until he was overheard talking to one of the "frontmen", who cannot be named for legal reasons, whose phone conversations were bugged by police. Make sure you have subscribed to our Facebook page or Twitter to stay tuned! The court heard Naufahu was a middle child of six children and the family had been under financial stress and hardship. The covert investigation ended in April 2019, when most of the Comancheros' hierarchy were arrested on offences of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group. Photo: Michael Craig, A New Zealand chapter of the Comancheros gang was established in 2018 after members were deported from Australia. Operation Nova was launched in late 2018 because police were concerned about the Comancheros' connections to international organised crime figures, and the gang's immediate impact - along with other Australian outlaw motorcycle clubs - on New Zealand's criminal underworld. 'I got hooked then and there': Conservationist in her 80s documents rare sea lion species, Race and erasure: Why the world's other humanitarian crises don't see the same response as Ukraine. The president of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club president Pasilika Naufahu came to New Zealand in 2016 and went about setting up the gang for monetary gain while those around him enjoyed the benefits, the Crown say. An annual lemonade stand that raises money for children battling cancer is coming to a local Hells Angels club this year. The media personality is charged with participating in an organised criminal group and two charges of money laundering including the purchase of two concrete pumps totalling $439,700. At the Court of Appeal, Ron Mansfield QC argued the statements made by a man who has name suppression, should have been ruled inadmissible because there was an absence of reasonable evidence that Naufahu was a member of the $1m conspiracy to supply pseudoephedrine. Not surprisingly he had sought out the company of others in the same situation, he said. Tyson Daniels was In total, 18 people were arrested, with lawyer Andrew Simpson and the gangs vice-president Tyson Daniels jailed in 2019 for their part in the operation. Naufahu continued to deny his involvement in drug dealing and confirmed he would continue to be involved in the gang, although he claimed he would obey any orders made by the Parole Board. Photo: Supplied, Tyson Daniels, in the gold Versace top, and Auckland lawyer Andrew Simpson at their sentencing hearing in February 2020. Search warrants were also executed at the home linked to Rahman in Suva where Fijian Police discovered 39kg of cocaine, presumably destined for the Australian and New Zealand markets. A trial involving laundering and drug charges against Comanchero president Pasilika Naufahu, Connor Michael Tamati Clausen, accountant Wiwini Himi Hakaraia, a media personality who has name Justice Graham Lang sentenced him today in the High Court at Auckland. Photo: Supplied, The Comancheros posted photographs on Instagram to announce the establishment of a New Zealand chapter. Former Comancheros President Mick Hawi was jailed manslaughter after he stabbed and bludgeoned rival Hells Angel bikie Anthony Zervas in the domestic departure hall of Sydney Airport in 2009.. More than $4 million worth of assets were seized. The Australian motorcycle gang established a chapter in New Zealand after 14 members were deported as so-called "501s", in reference to the section of Australia's immigration law used to revoke visas on "character" grounds. Comanchero Motorcycle Club president Pasilika Naufahu has been denied parole for a second time in four months. Vetekina Naufahu pleaded guilty to three charges at a High Court hearing this morning, held by audio-visual link because of the Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland. We respect every Motorcycle Club that adheres to proper MC protocol. Comancheros boss Pasilika Naufahu has been sentenced to ten years in prison after last year being found guilty of money laundering and conspiring to supply drugs. When detectives told him that an audio device had been covertly installed in his hotel room on Queen St, Rahman said: Oh shit. Earlier this month Naufahu admitted participating in an organised criminal group, four charges of money laundering and being in possession of ammunition. Board chairman Sir Ron Young said it was pointed out that Naufahu had the responsibility of caring for young children, and that appeared to conflict with the fact of his significant involvement in money laundering and conspiracy to supply drugs. The five were arrestedfollowing a series of raidsacross Auckland in April 2019 in which more than $3.7 million in assets were seized along withluxury cars, motorbikes, high-end luggageand jewellery. At trial, Naufahu was found guilty of two charges of money laundering in relation to the purchase of a Bentley and a Ford Ranger. He told them Naufahu arrived in New Zealand from Australia in early 2016 and quickly went about establishing the New Zealand chapter of the Comancheros. The offending was sophisticated, said Justice van Bohemen, with encrypted devices used to avoid detection by police. The cheap wholesale price of $120,000 per kilogram was agreed to by both parties, in a deal the police believed would weigh at least 100kg (a nice number with two zeros). A psychologist considered a special treatment programme for violent offending would adequately meet Naufahu's rehabilitative needs. Pasilika Naufahu and fellow Comancheros, wives, partners and families commenced a lifestyle both living and working together and benefited from a series of offences, Johnstone said. There cant be any sensible reason that these payments were loans, Johnstone said. I'll just have to wait for my time to come. Aged between 18 and 24, all are members of the Comancheros gang, said Det. Naufahus lawyer Ron Mansfield said his client is a good husband and father to four children, who tried to set up a life in New Zealand after being deported under the 501 scheme. You made it work. The gang boss was also found guilty, along with Connor Clausen, of conspiring to supply pseudoephedrine. This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald. The call was made in Mexico and the caller was identified as Rahman; a Fijian-Indian who lived in Suva, who had dual Canadian citizenship and travelled regularly to Mexico and the United States. Payments were also made by Hakaraia to Comanchero vice president Tyson Daniels to buy another new Range Rover. Jurors have been told intercepted calls show coded conversations, discussion of hundreds of thousands of dollars and a suspicion that police had tapped mobile phones. Defendants, jurors, counsel and media are all required to physically distance and wear masks in the courtroom. "The idea of him as a supportive father and husband is completely inconsistent with his desire to continue on in the Comancheros gang and the prospect of further offending if released.". READ MORE: * Comancheros: Man who bought car for gang vice-president gets community detention * Comancheros: Gang president found guilty of money laundering and drugs charges * Comanchero trial: Media personality ran company to 'disguise offending' Crown * Comanchero trial: 'Secrets and pretending' used to disguise offending, Crown says * Comancheros President Pasilika Naufahu admits some charges ahead of trial. Over the course of three years, more than a million dollars was deposited and withdrawn. Australian hairdresserHe Sha was jailed earlier this yearafter he admitted crossing the Tasman to sell pseudoephedrine. You set up the trusts and lent respectability, as a lawyer, to a criminal organisation.". The trial continues tomorrow. He had a number of convictions in Australia, including for violence. Clausen had his appeal dismissed earlier this year. This stabbing attack occurred as part of the Sydney Airport Brawl in 2009. The deal never went ahead. You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Everything went quiet until Rahman flew into Auckland International Airport on December 18, 2018, and checked into a hotel on Queen St, the Four Points by Sheraton. Comanchero Motorcycle Gang members have been arrested in Auckland. The 501, who was deported to New Zealand in 2016, was arrested after raids across Auckland in April 2019, resulting in more than $3.7 million in assets being seized including luxury cars, motorbikes, high-end luggage and jewellery. On Thursday, Detective Sergeant Damian Espinosa provided more details of surveillance of Naufahu in regards to the charges relating to conspiring to supply pseudoephedrine. The president of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club has been jailed after being found guilty of sophisticated money laundering and drugs charges. An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture.It is generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.. The Comancheros gang was founded in Sydney in the 1960s and has been growing in size and influence in New Zealand in recent years. Young said the board was convinced Naufahu remained an undue risk and could not be released. Comancheros gang president Pasilika Naufahu has sentence reduced Catrin Owen 12:24, Oct 05 2021 RICKY WILSON/STUFF Pasilika Naufahu was jailed for his part in a drug and money laundering. Earlier this month, Fakaosilea was found guilty on several charges of conspiring to import methamphetamine, including a 600kg shipment from South Africa, as well as supplying the Class-A drug. The woman has also denied engaging in a money laundering transaction, namely depositing $292,496.40 cash into various bank accounts. The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to nine charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, in relation to purchasing a fleet of luxury vehicles worth $2.6 million, including late-model Range Rovers, a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce. A senior Comanchero gang member has admitted charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group, just weeks before his trial was due to start. Despite this, Simpson was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison. Rahman was unknown to the team of detectives running Operation Nova until he was overheard talking to one of the frontmen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, whose phone conversations were bugged by police. The success of the group saw brand new luxury vehicles purchased along with a waterfront apartment, trips on luxury yachts and a $1.3 million Bucklands Beach house. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Then in February 2019, two separate consignments from the United States a waffle maker and coffee brewer- were stopped at the border by Customs, each containing 2.9kg of methamphetamine. "Another Comanchero chapter opened up. Photo / Jason Oxenham But months later those colours had run and Jesse Vella had joined the Rebels' rivals the Comancheros. The Vice President of Comanchero NZ released on parole Content Created by Grid Sparta Tallat Rahman, from Suva, was arrested in February 2019 in the first phase of the inquiry, which discovered how parcels of methamphetamine weighing up to 5kg were hidden inside kitchen appliances shipped from the United States. Earlier this year,lawyer Andrew Simpson and Danielswere jailed for their involvement. However, they still ruled the end sentence imposed was excessive and substituted the 10 years to one of nine years imprisonment. The late admissions come shortly before the pair were due to stand trial at the High Court in September, along with other members of the club and their associates on charges laid in April 2019 following Operation Nova. Ten days prior to that trial, Naufahu pleaded guilty to four charges of money laundering and one of participating in an organised crime group. Search warrants were also executed at the home linked to Rahman in Suva where Fijian Police discovered 39kg of cocaine, presumably destined for the Australian and New Zealand markets. In July, a 60-year-old man who travelled to Mexico was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of importing a Class A drug after being identified in Operation Nova. Justice Sally Fitzgerald convicted Naufahu of the three offences and scheduled a sentencing date of October 23, 2020, alongside his fellow Comanchero Jarome Fonua. "Your place in the Comancheros hierarchy means you were one of the directors of this serious offending, which exemplifies how organised criminal groups can obtain significant financial benefit from offending without putting themselves directly at risk.". No more games there is more than a million dollars coming. Insane Throttle Support Club Become a member Now, Insane Throttle/Motorcycle Madhouse Radio YouTube and Audio Disclaimer, Meet the Insane Throttle Contributing Columnist James Hollywood Macecari, Motorcycle Clubs Riding Clubs and Associations Near Me Index & Listings, Our Policies here at Insane Throttle Publications. Vetekina Naufahu joins two other senior members of the Comanchero motorcycle club in admitting charges of money laundering and participating in an organised criminal group following the covert police investigation Operation Nova. He was also found guilty, alongside patched Comanchero Connor Clausen, of conspiring to supply the Class B drug pseudoephedrine in September 2018. 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