Top Kiwi Sports Star Continues Judicial Fight For Repression After Prosecutors Linked Him To Drug Syndicate

One of Kiwi’s top sports stars has continued his fight in court for the permanent removal of the name after prosecutors accused him of being involved in a worldwide drug conspiracy.

The athlete was named during the drug trafficking trial of Tevita Fangupo, Tevita Kulu and Toni Finau in Auckland last year.

Despite not being charged, the sports star was charged by the Crown with being “intimately” linked to the crime, which included imports of methamphetamine from California.

He has vigorously denied the allegations, even under oath.

After the trial, the presiding judge, Judge Mathew Downs, rejected an initial offer for permanent removal of the name. This led to a series of appeal hearings, including that of the Court of Appeals, which rejected the removal of the athlete last year.

However, as everyone involved prepared for a showdown before the Supreme Court, the case returned to the High Court after new information emerged and led to a new request for suppression.

But in June, the Superior Court and Judge Downs again dismissed the effort for a gag order for good.

Today, after another appeal from the sports star, the Court of Appeals heard the case for the second time.

The athlete’s attorney, former attorney general Michael Heron, QC, said prosecutors had been “careless” about what they said during the trial.

“They didn’t need to allege his involvement, they didn’t need to name him. And when they did, it wasn’t fair, responsible or necessary,” he said at this morning’s Auckland hearing.

Since the trial, the Crown has dropped one of its previous accusations against the athlete, which was based on a series of telephone messages and a contact named “Sese.”

The messages were claimed to show the sports star exchanging money for the union, but the indictment was dropped after the athlete’s immigration records were provided.

“He has never transported or exchanged cash for these people, he has never dealt with importing methamphetamine. He has said it under oath,” Heron said.

The athlete has made an affidavit rejecting the Crown’s claims.

“I have never been involved in the importation of class A drugs. I have never exchanged or transported money for the defendants. I have never been involved in the purchase, supply or consumption of methamphetamine,” said the athlete.

“I was also not charged by the police in relation to the specific messages allegedly related to me, after what appeared to be a thorough investigation. Therefore, I understood that I did not need to comment on those messages to proceed with my request for name removal.”

The athlete also attached a police worksheet to his affidavit, suggesting that a search warrant was not executed against him because he was out of the country.

“It’s obvious why they didn’t execute the search warrant,” Heron said.

“[The police] he had arranged for the digital forensic unit to analyze the phone. So when they show up and he’s gone, then neither is the phone. “

After the trial, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said the sports star received “no special treatment” but added that “there was insufficient evidence to charge him.”

The athlete also refused when the police asked him to interview him.

“Whether there is public interest or not, it’s hard to see how you can be criticized for not talking to the police,” Heron said.

Judge Downs has said that although the police investigation into the union members was exhaustive, “there are doubts as to whether the same is true of the investigation of [the sportsman]”.

And when the Court of Appeals issued its first decision on the case last August, it mentioned the importance of knowing why the police decide whether or not to charge a person.

“There is a legitimate public interest in hearing complaints of serious conduct against a person who enjoys a high public profile and the fact that the police have not found the charges to be justified,” the court’s decision reads.

Today, the president of the Court of Appeals, Judge Stephen Kos, said that if the sports star was to be named, he was in “a very good position to answer the allegations” because he can summon the resources of his main lawyer and a public relations team. .

But Heron argued that if his client was identified, the mistakes of the Crown cannot be suppressed.

“He has to go back and deal with the accusations that were not made correctly and are unfair,” he said. “Why should I have to deal with that?”

Crown attorney Rebecca Thomson said the debate over the removal of the sports star’s name was not about proving the truth or falsehood of statements the Crown made at trial.

Instead, he said, it was about the reputational difficulties and financial losses the athlete could suffer if appointed.

However, he admitted that it was a “very timely reminder to prosecutors that their statements in court must be accurate at all times.”

Judge Kos said: “We are left with this unfortunate trail of statements from the prosecutor who leaves [the sportsman] at the heart “of the conspiracy.

Judge Kos, who heard the appeal along with Judge Matthew Muir and Judge Edwin Wylie, has reserved the court’s decision.

The media, including the Herald, Stuff represented by attorney Robert Stewart, Newshub and RNZ, have also opposed the attempted crackdown on the athlete.

The union members – Fangupo, Kulu, Finau and Halane Ikiua – were all sentenced to prison terms last November for importing and supplying methamphetamine and cocaine, and conspiracy to supply drugs.

A fifth man, Shane Singh, was also jailed for importing a Class A drug.