Comancheros Case: Accountant fined $ 2000 for possession of cocaine at ‘high end’, acquitted of other charges

An accountant acquitted of most charges during a high-profile trial has been fined $ 2,000 for possession of cocaine at the “high end.”

Accountant Wiwini Himi Hakaraia was tried along with others in Auckland High Court, but for him the case came to an end today.

The trial that also involved Pasilika Naufahu and Connor Clausen of the comancheros, as well as a media personality and a woman, both with name suppression, took a turn when charges against some of the defendants were dismissed.

A total of four charges against Hakaraia were dismissed, while he pleaded guilty to two amended charges of possession of a Class A drug.

The matter proceeded to sentencing shortly thereafter before Judge Graham Lang.

Defense attorney Paul Wicks QC said Hakaraia was a cocaine user at the time of his arrest but was not dependent.

Since then he had stopped using the drug and it was “something he has permanently left behind in his life.”

The defense attorney said Hakaraia had learned an “important lesson”.

Wicks emphasized his client’s good character as he had been involved in “substantial community efforts” over many years.

Judge Lang said that Hakaraia and others had been the subject of a long-running police operation investigating the distribution of drugs in the wider Auckland area.

That undercover investigation was called Operation Nova.

When police searched the Hakaraia home on April 11 last year, they found 27.6 g of cocaine inside a Nike shoe and 18.2 g of powder containing cocaine and methamphetamine in a bag.

Upon sentencing, Judge Lang acknowledged that he appeared for the first time at the age of 42, so “obviously he had the right to invoke his good character.”

He had also been involved in charity work for many years, the judge said.

The lawyer agreed that the matter should be resolved by a fine.

Judge Lang said Hakaraia should consider itself “fortunate that the crown supports this” as the amount owned was on the “higher end” and would normally require prison or a community sentence.

It was appropriate to impose the maximum financial penalty of $ 1,000 for each charge, he said.